Heart Rhythms
by amcfan000
Summary: Arizona got a new chance at life, but she wasn't taking advantage of it. When she finally reaches her breaking point, a stranger will help her learn to start living and in the process start living herself. When the unknown connection that links them is revealed, will it make them stronger or will it break them? A/U Story - Warning: Domestic Violence is a touched upon subject.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Grey's Anatomy character(s) and/or settings portrayed in this story. This story is for entertainment purposes only.**

**A/N: This is a little something I had in my head while writing my last story. I wrote up a draft a while back and decided to finish it up and put it out today.**

_**Italics are dreams, or flashbacks.**_

_**Present Day**_

Callie tossed and turned as her dreams haunted her. Today marked four years since the incident that significantly changed her life had occurred. She thought that hanging out for drinks after work with an old friend would have helped her get a good night's rest, but it seemed to be having the complete opposite effect on her right now.

"_Hi." The beautiful redhead with green eyes greeted as she stepped up to Callie._

_The brunette politely smiled back as she took another sip from her cocktail._

"_I always hate coming to these things…" The redhead trailed off, being in the brunette's presence had suddenly made her nervous._

_She had spotted Callie from across the room, and two glasses of wine later she had worked up the nerve to come and speak to her…although now those same nerves were betraying her._

"_I mean…don't you?"_

"_Don't I what?" Callie asked as she turned to face the woman. Her tone wasn't meant to be rude; she honestly just hadn't caught what the pretty redhead had said beforehand._

"_Hate_ _coming to these things?"_

"_Oh." Was Callie's reply. She did hate coming to the fundraisers, but since it was with the business community that worked closely with her father's chain of hotels…it was kind of a given that she had to attend._

"_I mean…they make you dress up all fancy, so you have to go out and buy a brand new…and overly expensive gown…then you have to spend money…that I personally being a non-profit organization do not have to spare…and now I have to suck up to the hotel magnate and his asshole heir of a son to try to gain some recognition in the community…and for an up and coming organization like my own it's key…but now I'm broke as hell and haven't been able to get any donations so…"_

_Callie looked on as the redhead poured out all of her concerns, "You seem to have a lot on your mind." Callie teased._

"_Oh…" The redhead blushed, "I…I'm sorry…I'm venting to a stranger and now you think I'm weird…"_

"_No, not weird…maybe a little crazy." Callie smiled._

_The redhead chuckled, "I'm Melissa by the way." She introduced herself as she stuck out her hand for Callie to take._

"_I'm Callie…although I recently found out that some people refer to me as the hotel magnate's asshole heir of a son." Callie teasingly raised her eyebrow as she shook Melissa's hand._

"_Oh…God…I…I'm sssorry…so sorry…I…" Melissa sighed, she was blowing it with the beautiful woman._

"_It's okay." Callie chuckled at the other woman's embarrassment._

_The rest of the night was spent getting to know each other, Callie helping Melissa get to know a few of her father's top business partners to invest in her women's shelter for victims of abuse and domestic violence._

_**6 years after the fundraiser…**_

_A seven months pregnant Callie lay in bed with her wife._

"_Have I told you how much I love you lately?" The brunette asked her wife of four years as she turned her head to smile at her._

_Melissa returned the smile; she knew exactly what her wife wanted…they had just seen a Seven Eleven commercial._

"_What will it be this time?" The redhead knowingly asked._

_Callie happily giggled as she pecked her wife's lips, "The baby reeaaally wants a cherry flavored Slurpee and some salt and vinegar chips." The brunette stated as she rubbed her pregnant belly._

"_The baby huh?" Melissa tenderly questioned but was already crawling out of bed and putting on some clothes to head out._

"_Yes…you know how your daughter gets…you've spoiled her."_

"_Somebody is spoiled and it's not the baby." Her wife stated as she leaned over the bed and gave Callie a goodbye kiss._

"_I love you." Callie whispered over soft lips._

"_I love you too. I'll be back." Melissa grabbed her keys from the nightstand, the clock showing 12:38a.m._

_Callie had dozed off shortly after but had woken up when she heard a loud knock at the door. As she started to stir she could make out red and blue flashing lights glaring through her bedroom windows. She instantly became worried as she looked over to her wife's side of the bed and it was empty. The brunette quickly put on her nightgown and ran downstairs to answer the door; she noticed the clock in her room now read 1:02a.m._

"_Dr. Torres?" The officer questioned._

"_Yes?" Callie worriedly asked._

"_I'm sorry to inform you ma'am, but there's been an accident…your wife…"_

_Callie could no longer hear the officer's voice as she started to cry and shake her head from side to side._

_**Seattle Grace Hospital, Rm. 502 **_

_Teddy sadly watched on as her best friend since childhood slowly deteriorated before her. The blonde had been on the heart transplant donor list for quite some time and if a miracle didn't happen soon…_

_Teddy shook her head trying to will away any negative thoughts._

"_Teddy?" Arizona's weak voice barely catching her friend's attention._

"_Hey, I'm here." Teddy tenderly stated as she brushed back some of Arizona's hair off of her face. Her friend's normally shiny, bouncy golden locks were now dull and limp, her skin pale and dry, and her normally vibrant crystal blue eyes no longer shined…they looked so lifeless._

"_Yy…you…you've aaa…aalways…been…been a ggg…gggood ff…friend."_

_Teddy shook her head from side to side, "Arizona Robbins…what…what are you doing? Your mother and father are downstairs right now…getting some coffee…and…I'm…" _

_**I'm not ready to say goodbye...**Teddy thought to herself._

"_I'm..." Arizona swallowed thickly, her breathing becoming even more labored with each shallow breath._

"_I'm dying Teddy…and I…I…nnn…nneeed you…tttooo…" Arizona's eyes pleaded with her best friend. She was tired and she needed Teddy to just get it. She needed Teddy to look after Barbara and Daniel, they had just lost Tim and his wife to a drunk driver, and now her…it wasn't fair. And Emma, what would happen with Tim and Alice's one year old daughter?_

"_I'll take care of them." Teddy sadly whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek. She knew what Arizona needed from her…so she said it…and she meant it too. But saying it only made this situation that more real. Because it meant that she was admitting to herself what she had been avoiding all along…that her best friend was dying._

_Cristina Yang hung up the phone with someone from Seattle Presbyterian Hospital as she quickly ran down the corridor._

"_Where are you going?" Meredith asked her person, who had just bumped into her but kept running down the hall._

"_Accident…some drunk took a stop sign…" Cristina yelled back but continued towards her planned destination._

_Yang burst into room 502, she was out of breath and jumpy, "We have a heart!"_

"_What?" Teddy turned around to face her protégé. _

"_A heart Dr. Altman…we have a heart." Cristina announced again as she pointed her head in Arizona's direction. UNOS had called Seattle Pres to arrange the transport for the organ to come to Seattle Grace...they had a heart._

_**Present Day**_

Callie Torres woke up screaming and in a cold sweat. As she darted her eyes around her dark master bedroom she tried to calm her breathing. Once she did, she got up to splash some cold water on her face.

As Callie turned the light in her bathroom on, she saw her reflection in the mirror, she noticed the tears running down her cheeks. The brunette turned the handle on the faucet and angrily splashed her face as she quietly sobbed. She blamed herself for her wife's death, and on days like today it was a bitter pill to swallow knowing you were responsible for killing the person you loved and were meant to spend the rest of your life with.

"Mami?" Sofia's small voice called behind Callie, this startling the older brunette as she hadn't been expecting it.

"Hi baby. It's late…couldn't sleep?" Callie tenderly asked as she saw her almost four year old daughter tightly clutching her favorite stuffed toy horse.

The horse was white and pink, the eyes and the mane worn from Sofia dragging it with her everywhere she went. Her wife had acquired it just a few short months before the accident that had taken her life. She had won it at a fair…she had won three actually, and bragged about it all the way home because Callie hadn't won anything. She said that the small one would represent their unborn daughter, and the two slightly larger ones would represent she and Callie.

After the accident Callie desperately searched for the other horse, which Melissa use to keep on the dash of her car, but the officers from the accident scene never recovered the toy and the brunette had been completely distraught.

At her mother's question Sofia nodded her head.

"You want to sleep with mami?" Callie asked as she walked over and picked up her daughter.

"Yes." Was the short reply as Sofia nuzzled her head against Callie's shoulder.

Callie crawled underneath the covers with her daughter, as Sofia snuggled deeper into her neck and chest, Callie hugged her tightly and silently cried herself to sleep.

Lucia had just finished up downstairs working with some of the hotel staff, so she headed towards her daughter's office. As Lucia entered she noticed Callie staring off into space and twirling her wife's wedding band that hung on the necklace she always wore around her neck. Lucia cautiously approached the desk.

"Hmmm…mmmm." Lucia awkwardly cleared her throat to catch Callie's attention.

As the brunette looked up to face her, the older woman gave her a sympathetic smile. She could tell her daughter had been crying, today marked four years since the death of her wife and she knew Callie struggled with feelings of guilt.

"Hi mama." Callie tried to sound chipper.

"Hi mija…I just wanted to let you know that I was going to head home now, and I could take Sofia if you wanted?"

Callie nodded thankfully, ever since her father had passed away almost two years ago her responsibilities in her family business had doubled, and sometimes poor Sofia would suffer the consequences with long hours.

"You know…you should head out also." Lucia suggested.

"Mama, don't start. We've been over this."

"Yes Calliope, we have…because you put in so many hours and it will eventually catch up to you…and Sofia is…"

"Sofia is fine." Callie argued.

"Is she?" Lucia challenged.

"Yes. And if you don't want to watch her then don't…Aria will be home from her classes soon and she can take her…"

"Sofia is not Aria's responsibility."

"Well mama, if you hadn't noticed I'm very busy running our family's empire. So, I would really appreciate it if you and Aria could once in a while help out with what seems to be to you...my burden of a daughter." She angrily snapped.

"She is not a burden Calliope. I love my granddaughter…you know that. You should really think about the real reason you stay here all day?"

"What does that mean?"

"Your father has good people working for him Calliope. People that he has known for years…you stay here so late because you want to avoid thinking and living your life mija…and poor Sofia…"

"HAD mama…he HAD…he's not here anymore is he? And neither is she…I am…I'm here…by MYSELF…I'm here…and this…this is MY LIFE." Callie angrily yelled as she stood up, all the while hitting her own chest to emphasize her point.

At the look of hurt that crossed her mother's face, the brunette instantly felt horrible.

She swallowed thickly as she held back her tears, "I…um…I have to look over the tapes for the commercials that will be coming out promoting the summer getaway ads…and um…I have to talk with the different district offices via telephone conferences for the rest of the afternoon, so…" Callie whispered as she shamefully looked away from her mother. She didn't mean to have an outburst like that…it was just a really bad day.

"If you could um…just take Sofia home…I…I would really appreciate it." Callie finally looked up again.

"Okay mija." Lucia gave her daughter a sad smile as she got up and headed towards the hotel's daycare to pick up her granddaughter.

Callie was getting ready to finally head home, maybe she would actually make it home with enough time to share a late dinner with Sofia. Tomorrow was Saturday and the brunette did not plan on coming into the hotel to work, so Sofia could skip her early bedtime tonight. The brunette had thought a lot about what her mother had said, she was right…she needed to try to dedicate more time to Sofia.

As the phone in her office started to ring the brunette let out a deep sigh, normally she was tempted to just let her voicemail pick up, but the caller ID showed a familiar name.

"Hi Kepner." Callie knowingly greeted.

"Oh, Dr. Torres…I didn't think you would answer…I mean I assumed you would because you're always there…but you usually don't pick up when you're busy with hotel business…because you know I'm calling about business with the shelter…and today being today and all…you know the anniversary of…"

"KEPNER!" Callie cut off April's ramble. She didn't need to be reminded of what today was.

"I'm sorry." April stated.

"It's fine. What did you need?" Callie asked as she absentmindedly fiddled with the ring on her necklace.

"Well, my boards are coming up real soon and I have to study so I won't be able to dedicate as much time to the shelter, or it's clinic…and I know you don't like to practice or come down here anymore…so I wanted to get your authorization to have a few of my friends and colleagues from the hospital volunteer if that's okay?"

"Yes, that's fine. I'll have my lawyers look into getting you the proper paperwork and setting everything up for your friends."

"Thank you Dr. Torres…have a goodnight." At her last statement April slapped her own forehead.

_Seriously Kepner? Have a goodnight…on the anniversary of the death of the woman's wife? I'm such an idiot._

"I'm sorry Dr. Torres." April quickly spoke up as the other end of the line remained silent.

"It's fine April. Bye."

"Bye."

"Oh...uh...April?"

"Yes Dr. Torres?"

"Thank you…for everything…that place was…ummm…just thank you." Callie's voice was thick with emotion.

Her wife had been a victim of domestic violence before she had met Callie, which is why she had started the shelter. That place meant the world to her wife, and Callie was glad that she had found somebody as responsible and caring as April to be able to handle its daily operations with just as much interest and love as her wife had poured into it.

"You're welcome Dr. Torres."

As Callie hung up with April, she was once again headed out her office door when the phone in her office rang yet again. This time it was the front desk of the hotel.

"Hello?"

"Callie, it's Andrea."

"What's going on Andrea?" Callie worriedly asked as she heard the frantic tone in Andrea's voice.

"I normally wouldn't bother you, but James isn't here. His wife was sick and he headed home about an hour ago."

James was the hotel's general manager and old time family friend of the Torres family. Although Callie did handle most of the business aspect of her family's chain of hotels, the hotel's day to day operations would be handled by different teams of district managers and general managers. Callie's final approval over everything was always required, but they had a standard set of hotel policies and guidelines that were followed to a tee by all the different hotels around the world. Each individual manager's job was to make sure that all employees followed those policies and guidelines to the letter.

However, since this was the home office and Callie was based out of this hotel…the staff would rely on her help just as they did with any other staff member or manager at the hotel. She had an open door policy just like her father had had, and the staff members at the hotel felt comfortable reaching out to her for any issues.

"There's a woman down here. She doesn't have any credit cards…and I've explained to her that we can't take cash without a deposit that we hold with her credit card information. She seems…she doesn't even have enough money on her to pay cash and…she doesn't want to let me see her ID…I'm…she's making a scene...and...there's a little girl with her." Andrea whispered the last part. She wanted to help the woman out, but she couldn't lose her job.

"I'll be down in a minute." Callie sighed as she hung up with Andrea and headed towards the front desk of the hotel's lobby.

She was exhausted and all she wanted to do was hug Sofia and spend some time with her before she fell asleep for the night. No matter how hard and long she worked to keep her mind busy…it didn't work, this day seemed like it was never going to end…and she desperately needed it to end.

As Callie approached the desk, she quickly spotted the woman and the little girl Andrea was talking about; their backs were turned to Callie. The woman was blonde, and she nervously bounced the little girl on her hip. The little girl with blonde hair and braided pigtails seemed like she couldn't be much older than Sofia.

As Callie made it around the desk to where Andrea was currently speaking to the woman, Callie and the woman in question came face to face.

As the woman's beautiful crystal blue eyes met Callie's, the brunette's breath hitched. The blonde was beautiful and there was just something about her that made Callie's heart skip a beat. Although, there seemed to be fear…or an emptiness hidden in her beautiful blue orbs, a fear and emptiness that Callie was all too familiar with.

The blonde and the little girl were shaking like leaves, and Callie noticed the slight bruises that were marring her milky white skin. She had some bruises that seemed older than others, and ones that Callie would venture to say were fairly recent. She had them mostly on her arms and near her face and neck, although Callie was sure that there were others hidden beneath her clothing.

The little girl was quiet and avoided eye contact, and she seemed to have on soaked pants. Callie had worked with enough abused women and children back when her wife was alive and they worked together at the shelter. The woman and child in front of her had just escaped for their lives, no doubt the wetness on the little girl's pants from peeing on herself…probably out of fear.

"Please? I…I don't have any credit cards on me…and I have cash…and I know that right now it's not enough…but I promise that I can get some more…I'm a doctor…I swear…I just really need your help…and I promise I will pay you back…I promise." Arizona's scared voice pleaded with the brunette. The girl at the desk had told her that she needed to speak with the manager.

Callie continued to stare at the woman, she was in a trance.

"Please? I…I have um…" Arizona trailed off as she reached into her pocket and pulled out all the money she had on her. She needed to convince the brunette to let her stay.

"I'm not sure how much it is…but I promise I can get you more…please…" She nervously spoke as she tried to hand Callie the money with a shaky hand.

As the woman's hand reached out, Callie gently took it in her own two hands, the beautiful blonde slightly flinching.

"It's okay. I don't need the money…we can…we will get you a room and work something out later okay?"

Tears trailed down Arizona's cheeks as she nodded her head and let out a small whimper.

Callie swiped the key card for one of the Presidential Suites of the hotel. After swiping it she put in her manager approval code and handed the card to the blonde so she could head upstairs to the room.

"Thank you…thank you so much." Arizona cried as she took the offered card and thoughtfully kissed it.

Andrea watched as Callie's eyes never left the blonde once. It was only after the woman and the little girl finally stepped into the elevator that Callie finally looked over at Andrea.

"What?" Callie asked, as Andrea was currently smirking at her.

"Nothing." She shrugged her shoulders.

Callie simply nodded and started inputting information into the computer.

"I mean it's just that…you gave a complete stranger the Presidential Suite." Andrea teased.

"So? We give complete strangers the Presidential Suites everyday…or do you know everybody that comes and stays at the hotel?" Callie asked as she continued to set up a Jane Doe account for the room she just booked…or loaned…or whatever it was that she had just done.

"No, but as soon as they whip out their identification and their platinum credit card to match…they practically become family to me." Andrea playfully stated as Callie looked away from the computer screen and over at her.

"You like her." Andrea followed up in a sing song voice as she knowingly smiled at Callie.

"I do not…I'm…she was…there is…"

Andrea raised her eyebrows knowingly.

"Don't I pay you to do something other than harass me?" Callie asked.

"Yeah, to make sure that people pay for their hotel rooms with proper identification." Andrea chuckled as she walked away to tend to one of the hotel guest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Grey's Anatomy character(s) and/or settings. This story is for entertainment purposes only.**

**A/N: Wow, thanks for all the positive feedback on the first chapter of this story. You guys are awesome! **

**I'm out of school because of winter break, and work was slow so I figured new chapter...why not?**

**To answer a few questions, yes Arizona did receive Callie's wife's heart. So we will see that come into play a bit later. This chapter will clarify why Arizona and her niece showed up to the hotel in the state that they did, and will give us a bit more background into Arizona's story. **

**Trigger Warning: This chapter does touch heavily on the subject of domestic violence, so please be cautious when reading.**

_**Italics equal flashbacks or thoughts.**_

Arizona was lying on the king sized hotel bed, her head resting comfortably against the leather cushioned headboard. She hadn't been expecting to be given such a huge room, it had a kitchen, living room, office space, and a gigantic master bedroom, as well as a two more guest rooms. The master bathroom had double sinks, a huge shower and a separate Jacuzzi tub. She hoped the manager that had given her the room would not get in trouble for allowing her to stay without paying. Arizona was thankful for the beautiful brunette that she had encountered earlier that evening. There was something about her that felt safe, familiar.

The blonde was brought out of her daydream as she watched her cell phone once again light up. She had it on silent, but even with the phone making no noise, she could almost feel the anger and rage coming through with each silent flash that signaled a new incoming call.

She quietly watched as Emma continued to have a fitful sleep. Her niece had woken up scared and crying several times already. As Emma started to stir once again, Arizona brought her closer to her own body and hugged her.

"I'm sorry." She whispered as she brushed back some of the hair that had escaped the little girl's pigtail braids and kissed her forehead. Emma remained sleeping but nuzzled closer to her aunt.

Arizona took in a deep breath as tears silently tracked down her cheeks. _How did she get here? When had this become her life? When did things get so bad? _

It had happened little by little…small signs here and there…and before she knew it…this was her life.

That's how it always works isn't it? You give a little piece of yourself up every day until you become nothing.

_**No, I don't have a gambling problem. **_

_**No, it's just a few beers after work. I just need them to clear my head.**_

_**No, I only cut every once in a while. It helps me to cope with the stress.**_

_**No, I only use drugs recreationally. I can stop whenever I want.**_

She had heard all the excuses before during her clinical training in med school.

Arizona mirthlessly laughed, _'When had she become a statistic?'_

_**No, she's only a having a bad day at work, things will get better as soon as she gets that promotion…then she won't keep hitting me. Besides, it was my fault she did…maybe if I wasn't so irresponsible, so disrespectful, so careless, so worthless, so messy, so flirtatious…**_

If Tim could see her now, he would be so disappointed in her. He trusted her with the most important thing in the world, his daughter, and she had completely let him down.

Him, Alice, her parents, her friends, and Emma…especially Emma…she had let them all down.

The phone once again angrily lit up as it had been doing all night. A new voicemail being left yet again, this time Arizona decided to listen to them.

_**You have 22 new messages…**_

_**First message: "Arizona, where are you? I didn't mean to get so angry. You just…you always go behind my back baby…what am I supposed to think?"**_

"_Oh come on Arizona, let's go out for drinks." Teddy begged her friend._

"_I'm not allowed to drink remember?" Arizona pointed to her heart._

_Teddy rolled her eyes, "You are in moderation. One glass of wine, good company…come on…you stay home with Emma all day, or cooped up in this hospital. Take advantage that you're kid free for the week." Teddy stated. Emma was visiting her grandparents back in Colorado._

_Teddy looked on as Arizona was about to once again decline her invitation._

"_Please Arizona? You need to get out…not just work and Emma, that's not healthy. You need to live life…get laid."_

"_Teddy!" Arizona's eyes wanted to burst out of her head._

"_It's been two and half years since the transplant Ari, you can't…you shouldn't feel guilty or bad about it." Teddy tenderly stated. _

_The cardio surgeon knew her best friend suffered with Survivor's guilt. Arizona struggled with the notion that she got to be alive while somebody else had to lose their life in order for it to happen. Ever since the transplant, Arizona had been socially withdrawn, she had disturbed sleep patterns and weird dreams of a redheaded woman, and she had become somewhat anxious and depressed._

_A drunk driver had taken her brother and her sister-in-law's lives; her niece was an orphan because of a drunk driver...yet a drunk driver had also been the reason why she was still alive today, but the woman whose heart she received was probably also somebody's wife, or sister, or mother._

_The driver that had crashed into Tim and his wife's car didn't have the decency to at least stop and get help. When Tim and Alice were found it was almost two days later. Their completely mangled car had been found at the bottom of a lake. Had Tim and Alice been found earlier on, maybe they would have had a chance of being alive. Because Tim and Alice were family to Arizona she would have been first in line to have one of their hearts transplanted into her, but because of the state they had been found in their organs were no longer viable. _

_If Arizona struggled with having a stranger's heart…Teddy could only imagine what something like having her brother or sister-in-law's heart in her would have been like. _

"_Alright, I'll go." Arizona agreed. _

"_Yes!" Teddy excitedly proclaimed as she kissed the blonde's cheek, Arizona giggling at her best friend's silliness. _

"_Look at that woman over there giving you the sexy eye." Teddy teased as they were currently sitting at a booth in the bar that was across from the hospital._

"_What? She is not." Arizona rolled her eyes._

"_Oh yeah, then why is she coming over here?"_

"_Oh my God…does my hair look okay?" Arizona nervously asked. She hadn't really dated anyone since the transplant, and she was a little out of practice._

"_Yeah." Teddy chuckled as Arizona fixed her hair._

"_Hi, I was just wondering if I could buy you a drink?" The raven haired woman with blue eyes asked, Arizona agreed and got up to follow her. _

_Arizona turned back and nervously looked at her best friend, who was smiling from ear to ear and giving her two thumbs up._

"_So, what's your name?" She asked after their drinks had been handed to them. She and Arizona had taken seats at the bar._

"_Arizona."_

"_I'm Renee."_

_**Sixth message: "Come on Arizona…you always do this, and this is why I get angry…and you know what happens when I get angry."**_

_Arizona and Emma sat across from Renee in a booth at a local restaurant._

"_Will that be all?" The waitress asked._

"_Yes, thank you." Arizona politely stated as she gave the waitress a kind smile, the waitress smiled back and then left to place their order._

"_Sit over here." Renee's tone was harsh._

_Arizona furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "What? Why?"_

"_Because I said so Arizona. Get over here."_

"_I have to help Emma with her food when it comes. She's too little to sit by herself."_

"_She's a big girl. Right Emma?" Renee asked the little girl in a friendly voice._

_Emma nodded her head enthusiastically._

"_You see…she's fine."_

"_Now sit your ass over here." Renee demanded in-between gritted teeth as she leaned over the table and angrily glared at Arizona._

_Arizona swallowed thickly, but got up none the less._

_The waitress brought out their order and placed it on the table._

"_She's decided that she's not hungry." Renee stated as she handed back Arizona's plate to the waitress._

"_Are you sur…" The young waitress began to ask Arizona but was cut off by Renee._

"_What part of she's not hungry didn't you understand?" _

"_Tell her honey." Renee sweetly stated, but was currently roughly pinching at Arizona's side. _"_Don't even think about looking at her." Renee angrily whispered in her ear._

"_I'm not hungry anymore." Arizona's small voice came out, her gaze never once lifting up from the table._

_As Renee ate, Arizona held back her tears._

"_When we get home…I'm going to teach you not be such a slut and a flirt with whorey waitresses while you are in front of your girlfriend." _

_**Ninth message: "Okay, you can't say I didn't warn you. The longer it takes for you to come home…the worst it's going to be…bring your fuckin' ass home Arizona. We only know it's a matter of time before you have to come back anyways…why make it worse on yourself? You have nothing you dumb bitch…"**_

"_Oh, Renee." Teddy awkwardly greeted the other woman as she entered Arizona's apartment. She had used the key Arizona had given her from day one._

_The cardio surgeon obviously a bit surprised to find Renee in Arizona's living room. Tonight was suppose to be their weekly girl's night for just she and Arizona to hang out._

"_How long have you had a key?" Was the other woman's response as she crossed her arms._

"_I've…I've always had one. Ari and I always give each other keys to our apartments." Teddy stated a bit confused. Renee seemed extremely peeved off._

"_Well, I'm going to have to ask you to be a bit more considerate in the future Teddy. Arizona no longer lives alone, so you can't just barge into our apartment like that moving forward."_

_**Since when had they moved in together?**__ Teddy thought to herself. Arizona hadn't mentioned anything about it. The cardio surgeon nodded her head in agreement none the less._

_The rest of the night seemed to go better; Teddy had brought over chick flicks and wine. Arizona only drank one glass, Renee and Teddy were slightly more buzzed. Arizona had just come back out into the living room from checking on Emma._

"_It wass thhe worsst date ever." Teddy drunkenly slurred as she finished up whatever story she had been telling Renee._

"_Maybe…I ssshould become a lllady lover like you and Arrri." Teddy giggled as she poured herself another glass of wine._

_Renee chuckled, "You can't just become a lesbian."_

"_Ssure I can…I…I wwould make an exce…excellent lesbian…rrright Arri?" Teddy's glossed over eyes caught Arizona's gaze, the look of fear that crossed her best friend's features completely going unnoticed by the drunk cardio surgeon._

"_What does she mean?" Renee asked Arizona as she gave her a death glare._

"_I'm…she's drunk…I don't…" Arizona nervously stuttered._

"_Oh come on…" Teddy whined. "You sssaid…I wass a…good kisssser."_

_Arizona looked on as Renee's nose angrily flared at Teddy's statement and her cheeks were turning red._

"_Do elaborate Arizona." Renee demanded._

"_We…it's was in college…on a stupid dare…we kissed…we're best friend's…it was nothing." Arizona shrugged her shoulders and tried to keep her voice neutral and calm. She didn't need Renee blowing up in front of Teddy._

"_It wassn't nothing…we made out…it wasss hhhhot." Teddy drunkenly giggled as she animatedly shook her head at the memory. __The cardio surgeon deciding to forgo her wine glass altogether and take a sip directly from the almost empty wine bottle that sat on her lap._

"_I think you've had enough there Teddy." Renee stated as she got up and brought the bottle away from Teddy's lips._

"_I'll call you a cab." She followed up and then walked away to do just that._

"_Why can't I jusst sstay here like alwayss?" Teddy pouted as she laid her head down on the back of the couch, the room slightly spinning._

"_Teddy…" _

"_Hmmm?" The cardio surgeon lifted her head to look at her best friend._

"_Please, just go home for tonight…"_

"_But I usssually…"_

"_I know you do. I'm sorry…just please?" Arizona's eyes had unshed tears in them as she pleaded with her drunk best friend._

_Teddy furrowed her eyebrows, but nodded._

_ "Ari, is…is something going on? You…you've been acting weird lately?" The cardio surgeon worriedly asked, her buzz no longer affecting her as she looked at her best friend's current demeanor._

_She had been noticing little things; Arizona never wanting to hang out together anymore…not even at her apartment. After the transplant, the blonde didn't want to go out, but they would always hang out at home. Also, Arizona had been getting injured a lot lately…falling down, bumping into things…she had never been such a klutz before. And lately she would flinch at the sight of her own shadow._

"_I'm…I…I need to tell you someth…" _

_Arizona couldn't finish her statement because Renee had come back into the living room, "Your cab's out front."_

_Teddy picked up her bag and walked towards the front door, she took one last worried glance back at her friend, a look that did not go unnoticed by Renee as she warningly looked at Arizona…that was going to cost her later._

"_I'll see you tomorrow." Teddy sadly smiled at Arizona and walked out of the apartment._

_After Teddy left, Renee went to their bedroom to do some work on her computer. Arizona was scared, Renee was being too quite. She hadn't brought up the kissing, or the fact that Teddy seemed a little concerned and worried when she had gone home. Arizona was just waiting for the pressure cooker in Renee to boil over…and that had the blonde on pins and needles. Sometimes getting hit right away was better and hurt less than when Renee would let it build up._

_Arizona stepped into their bedroom, "I'm…I'm going to take a shower." She quietly stated._

_Renee continued to type and never once looked up from her screen, Arizona waited for some sort of a reply and didn't dare move towards the bathroom until she got one._

"_Why are you still standing there?" Renee asked, the anger in her tone evident._

"_I uh…I was…I…I wanted you to know I was…heading to the shower." Arizona swallowed thickly as she nervously fidgeted with her hands._

"_Oh, you wanted me to know you were heading to the shower? So, now you want me to know things?" _

"_Go take your fucking shower and get the hell out of my sight Arizona."_

_Arizona went into the bathroom and started to shed her clothes. She thought about locking the door, but she knew better…the last time she had done that it was worse in the end._

_She heard the door being opened, and the lock clicking. She closed her eyes and waited for what was about to come._

_"What did you say to Teddy?"_

_"Nothing, I swear."_

_"You swear?" Renee incredulously chuckled, "Yeah, I remember the last time you swore about something."_

_She watched as Renee walked over to the shower and turned on the water, it would drown out the noise. Arizona was thankful, at least Emma wouldn't overhear._

_Renee walked back to the middle of the bathroom and stood directly behind a naked Arizona._

_Arizona's fear filled eyes caught Renee's reflection in the mirror. The raven haired woman had a look of rage in her eyes and a leather belt in her right hand. She was currently slapping it softly against her right leg._

"_I asked you before if there had ever been anything between you and Teddy…and do you remember your answer Arizona?"_

_Arizona remained quiet, she knew that Renee didn't really want her to answer…she had learned that lesson the hard way as well._

"_You said, 'No, we're just best friends…I swear…she's like a sister to me'." The angry woman mimicked Arizona's voice._

"_Since when the fuck do you make out with your sister?" Renee grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back towards her._

"_Huh Arizona, do people normally go around making out with their fucking sisters?"_

_When the blonde's only response was a scared whimpered cry, Renee grabbed her by the arm and roughly turned her around so that they were face to face, "HUH? You stupid bitch…ANSWER ME."_

"_No." _

"_No, that's right Arizona…no. So then why the fuck did you lie to me? Especially when you know that I hate it when you LIE…you STUPID BITCH!" Renee angrily pushed Arizona to the floor._

"_Please?" Arizona cried as she used her hands to try to protect her face and body. Renee's belt already angrily connecting and leaving welts all over her naked form._

_Renee towered over Arizona as she heavily breathed in and out. She had finally stopped hitting the blonde after what seemed like forever. Arizona slowly pulled her hands away from her face, her tears staining her cheeks and her body ached all over as she shook in fear._

"_Clean yourself up and get your ass in bed. You know I can't sleep without you." Renee spat on her as she walked out._

_Arizona slowly carried her bruised body to the shower. The hot water only causing Arizona more pain as it came in contact with her raw skin. She tried to move quickly, but couldn't…everything hurt everywhere. She finally finished up and slipped on her pajamas as she slowly made her way out of the bathroom and laid down in bed._

_Renee brought Arizona's body closer to her, Arizona wincing at contact._

"_I'm sorry." Renee whispered in her ear, "You know I love you. I just don't like it when you lie to me."_

"_I know, I'm sorry." Was the automatic reply, as were the tears that silently fell down Arizona's cheeks. _

"_I want you to keep away from Teddy…"_

_Arizona stiffened at Renee's statement, Teddy was her best friend…she loved Teddy. How could she stay away from her best friend?_

_Renee felt Arizona stiffen in her arms, "Unless it's true, and you like her as something more?"_

"_No, it's not…I only love you."_

"_Good girl. Then tell her tomorrow that you can no longer be friends Arizona. And I hope for your sake…you don't lie to me about that too." Renee stopped hugging Arizona as she turned around in bed and fell asleep, Arizona stayed up all night crying silently._

_**Twenty-Third Message: "Arrrriiiizzzzzooooonnnnaaaaa…I know you're on the phone listening to my messages…because now it goes straight to voicemail. What the fuck do you think you're doing? Where are you going to stay? You have nothing…no money, no job, no credit cards…because if you use them you'll know I'll track you…because you are one smart cookie…which is why I don't understand why you are acting so stupid right now? You have no car…you're almost out of your meds…I'm all you have Arizona. Who are you going to call? Maybe Teddy…oh, no…that's right…you can't because you haven't talked to her in over a year. Hmmm, who else…who else? Aahhhh…maybe mommy and daddy…oh wait, they think everything is just peachy king…can't have them know what a screw up you are…and what a horrible job you're doing with that little bastard niece of yours…they'll take her away and then you'll really have nothing to link you to your dead brother."**_

_Arizona had been going to work and avoiding Teddy as much as she could, but after a few short weeks and a relentless Teddy…Arizona decided that she had a decision to make._

"_Hey." Teddy greeted her best friend as Arizona came to visit her at her office._

"_We have to talk." _

_At her best friend's serious demeanor Teddy nodded and pulled out a chair for Arizona to sit on, the Peds Surgeon stayed standing near the door._

"_I put in my two weeks notice…"_

_Teddy opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Arizona raising her hand, "And also, I'm going seek another cardiologist to follow up with my continued care."_

_Arizona watched as Teddy looked like she had been physically slapped, "Is this because of Renee Arizona? Is she…is she hurting you in any way? You could just tell me and we'll get help…I can…"_

"_Stop, just stop. I'm not being hurt Teddy…you keep asking…and I keep telling you no. And I would really appreciate you not lying to my parents and telling them things that you have no proof of." Arizona angrily stated. Barbara and Daniel had started to call and question Arizona about Renee, they said Teddy had called them worried out of her mind for Arizona's safety._

"_Proof?" Teddy angrily snapped as she marched up to her best friend._

_Arizona recoiling as Teddy got closer, the blonde's back hitting the office door. _

_At the fear in her best friend's eyes Teddy stopped abruptly, but then proceeded to slowly approached her friend. As she stood in front of Arizona, she carefully reached out her hands to lift Arizona's sleeve, her bruised covered arm now exposed._

"_You jumping whenever I or anybody else gets near you…" _

"_These…" Teddy sadly stated as she gently passed her hands over the bruises._

"_That's proof isn't it?" The cardio surgeon sadly whispered her question._

"_Please Ari, let me help…don't shut me out…we can…"_

"_You're making it worse." Arizona whispered as she took back her arm and pulled down her sleeve. Her eyes glossed over, void of any emotion…she seemed like a robot._

"_Just stay away…she's jealous of you…you're the problem. If you stay away she'll be fine…I'll be fine…and if you're any kind of friend and you love me…then you would understand and you would do this for me." Arizona finally looked up to meet Teddy's gaze, her sad blue eyes silently pleading with the other blonde._

"_Because I love you is the very same reason why I can't…I can't sit back and do nothing. I can't let her hurt you." Teddy sadly shook her head from side to side, tears slowly trailing down her cheeks._

"_Then you do what you have to do…and I'll do what I have to do." Arizona stated._

_The blonde looked on as Teddy's hurt filled eyes pleaded with her, the cardio surgeon's eyebrows knitted in confusion. Arizona gave her friend one last sad smile and walked out of her office. That was the last time she saw her. _

_Arizona moved, changed her number, stopped working at the hospital, she had truly believed that staying away from everyone and everything would fix everything…but it was worse, and now she was truly alone. She would talk to Barbara and Daniel on a weekly basis, lied to them about where she worked, where she lived, who she was with, told them that Teddy had stabbed her in the back and that she really would appreciate their cooperation in trying to phase the blonde out._

**_When had she become this weak? This pathetic?_** The sad part was that she was still considering going back to Renee. Renee was right, she had no one and nothing and it was only a matter of time before she would need Renee's help.

Heck, if she was being honest with herself…if it hadn't been for Emma…she knew tonight would have gone differently.

_**Final Message: Boy, if your dead brother could see you now huh Arizona? He would be so ashamed…you're worthless. The best thing that could happen to Emma is you giving her up…she deserves better than her pathetic, worthless, piece of shit aunty. I'm all you got Arizona. You better hope I don't find you on my own…you and I both know that would not turn out in your favor…so I suggest YOU…BRING…YOUR...FUCK ASS, WORTHLESS, PIECE OF SHIT SELF…HOME!"**_

"_Where were you?" Renee asked Arizona and Emma who had just walked in the door, laughing and giggling with ice-creams in their hands._

_The raven haired woman sat in the dark drinking a glass of what Arizona could only assume was some sort of alcoholic beverage._

"_We were at the park." Arizona meekly replied. She hadn't been expecting Renee to be home so early._

"_At the park? That's nice…meanwhile I'm at work all day and when I get home I expect to find my girlfriend here to greet me with a nice warm meal…but no, she was at the park…and you even bought ice-cream. How nice." Renee sarcastically smiled._

"_Did you buy me any ice-cream Emma?" She asked the little girl in as sweet a voice as possible as she stood up from the couch._

"_Don't bother her." Arizona stated in a scared voice._

"_You…SHUT UP!" Renee pointed to Arizona as she angrily threw her glass against the wall directly behind Arizona's head, both Arizona and Emma jumping in fear as it hit the wall._

"_Did you buy me any?" Renee looked at Emma yet again, the little girl's eyes already starting to water as she hid behind her aunt's leg._

_Renee maniacally chuckled, "Yeah, I didn't think so."_

"_Maybe Aunty Zona should ask Emma to go and wait in her room with the TV on…because we have to talk." Renee furiously glared at Arizona._

_Arizona bent down to talk to Emma, "Don't cry honey...it's okay. Just wait in the room for a while…I'll come see you in a bit." She tenderly stated as she dried her niece's tears._

_Emma continued to cry as she clung to Arizona. The older blonde soothingly talked in her ear and reassured her niece that everything would be alright, although she herself was dying on the inside for what was about to come._

_Emma eventually ran off towards the hallway and out of sight. As soon as she was gone, Renee wasted no time in roughly grabbing Arizona by her arm and leading her towards their bedroom. Once inside, she roughly threw the blonde on the floor. As Renee menacingly walked towards her, Arizona quickly tried to crawl away backwards but was stopped when she bumped into her nightstand._

"_Nowhere to run to Arizona?" Renee grinned._

_Emma was sitting on the floor hiding in Arizona's closet, but she could still see out towards the room. She covered her ears and closed her eyes when Renee started hitting her aunty. The little girl nervously rocked back and forth, no matter how hard she tried she could still hear her aunt crying and Renee saying and doing mean things._

"_Please stop. Please stop. Please stop." Emma whispered into the darkness of the closet as she continued to rock back and forth and tightly cover her ears._

_Renee was currently on top of Arizona but stopped when the blonde had landed one good punch to her lip._

"_You bitch…I'm bleeding." She stated as she reached up and touched her swollen lip._

_Arizona tried to calm down her breathing, her eyes were wide with fear as she stared up at Renee. She had been getting better at fighting back lately. Her brother had taught her how to fight when she was younger, but with Renee she would just take it…she didn't know why, but in her mind she felt she deserved the punishment._

_Renee took her bloodied hand and angrily clutched Arizona's jaw with it, "I'm going to go out for a while and when I get back their better be something for me to eat you bitch." _

_She let go and shoved Arizona's head back angrily against the nightstand, then got up and walked out of the bedroom. Arizona didn't dare move until she heard the front door open and close._

"_Please stop. Please stop. Please stop…"_

_Arizona furrowed her eyebrows when she heard her niece's small voice nearby…she got up slowly and headed towards the sound, her beaten body protesting with every step. _

_As the blonde opened the closet door, she couldn't help the tears that fell when Emma jumped scared in the air. The little girl looked up at her; her eyes filled with fear…a child's eyes should never look like that._

"_I'm soooorrrryyyy aaauuunnntttyyyy Zzzzoonnnnaaaaa." Emma sobbed. She didn't mean to be bad and not listen. Maybe if she hadn't insisted on going to the park today her aunt wouldn't have gotten hit?_

"_Emma, it's okay. I'm sorry." Arizona quickly bent down and hugged her niece as she peppered her face with kisses. The older blonde realizing her lip was also cut, as she felt a sharp pain after kissing Emma._

_As Emma continued to sob, Arizona knew she had to do something. She quickly grabbed her keys, and found a small bag and threw her heart medications inside. She went fishing through her purse and found her wallet; she grabbed her ID and tossed it in the bag as well. She looked around the room one last time, and grabbed her phone charger, her and Emma's social security cards and birth certificates. She rummaged through some drawers and found some cash that she shoved in her pants pocket._

"_Let's go." She hurriedly stated as she grabbed Emma's hand and walked towards their front door._

_She walked up to the car but decided against it when she thought that maybe Renee could track her that way. After that thought she decided to go into the settings menu of her cell phone and take off any GPS tracking, satellite, or mapping applications that she had on it. She did it nervously and kind of in a hurry, so she made a mental note to double check again once she got to somewhere safe. _

_Emma tried to walk quickly and keep up with her aunt's pace, she didn't know where they were going…but she hoped that it was far away from Renee._

"_Aunty Zona?" Her small scared voice grabbing Arizona's attention._

_Arizona looked down at her niece, but kept hurriedly walking, Emma's little legs trying their best to keep up._

"_I'm sorry." Emma stated._

"_It's okay…it's not your fault…we have to hurry though…we can't be here when…"_

"_I'm wet." Emma announced._

_Arizona furrowed her eyebrows and stopped walking momentarily, "What?"_

"_I peed myself when I was in your room…I'm sorry." The little girl shamefully looked down, but the tears in her eyes were already spotted by her aunt._

"_It's okay. You were scared…you were…" Arizona swallowed thickly as she tried to hold back her own tears. This was her fault…her five year old niece shouldn't be living like this._

"_We could go back and…" Arizona started to say as she looked back towards their apartment building. _

_They had only made it halfway down the block, she could probably grab Emma some clean clothes. She was so stupid, why didn't she think about grabbing any clothes?_

_Emma quickly looked up, her eyes filled with fear, "Noooooo….ppppllleeeaassseee…pleeeassseeee…" She cried and begged her aunt._

"_Iffffff…yoooooou…goooooo…baaaaaack…yooooou won't…won't leeeeeeeave…pleeeeeeease…she'll make yoooooou st…stay…like be…beforrrrrre…pleeeaassseee…pleeeassseeee…" Emma begged in-between choked sobs as she desperately clutched at Arizona's legs and waist._

_Arizona sadly looked down at her crying niece and then back towards her apartment building, it was now or never…and this had to end today because she needed to be better for Emma. She picked up her crying niece and ran as far as her legs would take her…she was running for her life._

**A/N: I'm sorry that there was no Callie this chapter besides the small mention at the beginning, but I wanted to kind of get into Arizona's head and also give a little background on her. I thought that the escalating anger in the voicemails and the escalating of the violence after each one during the flashbacks was one way to demonstrate how domestic abuse starts out with small things and can get to such an extreme state, in some cases even worse than what was displayed here.**

**Anyways, this will probably be the only chapter that doesn't contain Callie, because I kind of wanted to contain the abuse part of the story to this one chapter as moving forward Arizona will have to take steps to not go back to her old life with Renee. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Grey's Anatomy character(s) and/or settings portrayed in this story. This story is for entertainment purposes only.**

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follows. I'm glad you're liking the story so far.**

Arizona tossed and turned as she tried to get some sleep. The blonde had been up most of the night, worrying, thinking and crying. Eventually all that worrying, thinking and crying had taken a toll on her body as she slowly started to drift off.

"_You made it." The redhead smiled at her._

_Arizona smiled back, it had been a while since she had dreamt with the woman. They stood in the middle of a beautiful garden; they would always meet in the same one every time Arizona would have this dream. _

"_I'm sorry. I've had a lot going on."_

_The redhead nodded at Arizona's statement._

_Arizona wasn't sure of the garden's location, but it was in the city…and she knew they were high up somewhere. It was always so bright and sunny, it was a happy place._

"_Are these new?" Arizona pointed to some roses._

"_Yes, I started planting them not so long ago."_

"_They're beautiful." The blonde thoughtfully replied, the redhead smiling back at the compliment._

"_I left Renee." Arizona announced as she shamefully looked away._

"_Ah, that explains why your smile is back." The redhead teased, Arizona chuckled._

"_Yeah, but now I don't know where to go or what to do…and I have to think about Emma."_

"_Emma will be fine…and so will you…"_

_Arizona gave the woman a sad smile._

"_It's never too late to start planting new flowers Arizona." The other woman stated as she picked a beautiful rose from the bush that Arizona had been looking at earlier._

"_Always remember that." She said as she handed the rose to Arizona._

"_I will." The blonde smiled brightly as she closed her eyes and brought the rose up to her nose, she inhaled deeply._

"_Will you remind her too?" The redhead worriedly asked. "She forgot." She sadly whispered._

_Arizona furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head questioningly at the other woman's request. _

"_Remind her?"_

"_Yes, that's it's never too late to start planting new flowers…remind her for me." The redhead smiled one last time as she started to walk away._

"_Wait…who? Who?" Arizona ran after the woman, but she was already gone._

"Who are you talking about? Wait…please…" Arizona sleepily mumbled as Emma tried to wake her up.

"Aunty Zona…aunty Zona…please wake up…"

At the feel of somebody hovering over her, Arizona darted up in bed as she wildly looked around.

Emma jumped back slightly and looked at her with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry." The older blonde stated a little out of breath. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Emma nodded, "I thought you were having a bad dream."

Arizona smiled at the memory of her dream, "No, I was having a good dream actually."

Emma happily smiled back at her aunt; she liked it when she was happy.

Arizona chuckled as she heard Emma's stomach growl, they hadn't eaten anything since their ice-creams in the park yesterday.

"Are you hungry kiddo?"

"No." Emma shook her head. She knew her aunt didn't have a lot of money and she didn't want to have to go back to Renee's house to eat.

As Emma's stomach growled once again, Arizona questioningly looked at her.

"You can tell me if you're hungry." The blonde tenderly stated.

"Will we have to go back to the house if I'm hungry?" Emma fearfully asked as she looked at her aunt with tear filled eyes.

At the look on her niece's face Arizona let out a whimpered cry as she brought Emma closer to her and hugged her.

"No, we don't have to ever go back. I promise…I promise…and I'm sorry…I am so, so sorry." Arizona kept apologizing over and over again as she gently rocked Emma in her arms and placed soft kisses on her head.

They stayed like that a while longer until Emma's growling stomach interrupted them once again, both aunt and niece chuckling at the sound.

"Okay, I have to get you some food because that thing is going to get so loud I won't be able to hear myself think." Arizona teased as she playfully tickled her niece's stomach, the little girl squealing in laughter.

After the tickle attack, Arizona looked at Emma directly in her eyes, eyes so much like hers…so much like Tim's. She had messed up, but the redhead from her dreams was right…it was never too late to start planting new flowers…it was never too late to start over.

"I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too." The little girl replied, her stomach again growling loudly.

Arizona playfully rolled her eyes, "Okay…let me go check to see if your pants are dry."

Because of Emma's accident, Arizona had washed her jeans by hand in the sink last night and then hung them up to dry. She needed to figure out what they were going to do about more clothes. Right now Emma was going around in just her t-shirt and her panties, which Arizona had also washed last night, thankfully those had dried faster and Emma was able to put them on after her bath.

Arizona only had on her jeans, and an old short sleeved t-shirt. She knew they couldn't keep wearing the same outfits day after day…but she would figure something out later.

As the blonde made her way towards the bathroom, she could already tell that the jeans were still damp just by looking at them.

"Great." She muttered to herself as she confirmed her suspicions when she touched them and they were indeed still very damp.

"Are they still wet?" Emma's small voice sounded behind Arizona.

"Oh God!" Arizona jumped in the air as she brought her hand to her chest and tried to calm her breathing.

"I'm sorry." Emma stated with worried eyes. She should know better than to sneak up on her aunt, she was always scared because of Renee.

"It's fine…I just…you startled me is all." She reassuringly smiled down at Emma.

"And to answer your question…yeah, they're still wet kiddo." Arizona sighed.

"Can't you go and buy the food and then bring it back for us?" Emma reasoned.

Arizona tenderly smiled, "I can't leave you alone here."

"I'm a big girl."

"I know but, it's…" Arizona trailed off as Emma's stomach growled yet again.

She pondered her decision a while longer and then conceded. She remembered seeing a drugstore right up the road on her way here, and that was probably the only place she could afford right now. Arizona was sure she could get there and back in about ten minutes at most.

"Okay Emma, but you have to listen to me very carefully." Arizona stated. Emma nodded her head up and down.

"Do not…for any reason at all…answer the door when I'm gone…okay?"

Emma nodded, "Okay."

"And do not go near that kitchen…got it?"

Emma nodded yet again.

Arizona hesitated slightly, but Emma pinky promised that she wouldn't open the door or go into the kitchen.

Arizona freshened herself up a bit with the hotel issued toiletries and then proceeded to head out, once again reminding Emma of the rules she had to follow while she was gone. She would try to be quick, and hopefully she would be back in about five to ten minutes as she had originally estimated in her head.

Emma was watching TV, but quickly got bored so she decided to go to the bathroom and explore, her aunt didn't say anything about not going to the bathroom.

Callie and her family had just finished eating breakfast. Her sister and her mother had stayed the night at her house last night because they had been watching Sofia. When Callie got home they had all eaten a late dinner and then just decided to crash at her place for the night, Callie had insisted…the brunette said it was safer. She still struggled with the memories of her wife going out to the store late at night and never coming back home again.

They were currently sitting on the back patio, while Sofia was playing on her swing set.

Callie had straightened her hair and was wearing make-up. She looked casual, like she wasn't trying to impress, yet you could tell she had decided to look a little extra cute today.

"What's with the smirk?" Callie asked her sister.

"Nothing, you just look…nice." Aria teased.

Callie rolled her eyes, "Alright, what did Andrea tell you?"

Aria and Lucia chuckled.

"Just that you have a new crush." Aria responded.

"What?…I…I do not. Can't a person just look nice?"

Lucia smiled, "Yes…and you look very pretty mija." The older woman stated as she gave her daughter a hug.

She was happy to see her daughter interested in someone again; she had been living so closed off to the idea of meeting someone ever since Melissa's passing.

"Thanks."

"So, are you going to let all that pretty go to waste?" Lucia asked.

"Mama's right Cal, why are you here with us…when you can be over there with her? You can't ask us out on a date…that would be weird." She teased as she smiled at Callie.

"What is wrong with you two?" Callie chuckled.

"Besides, I can't just go ask her on a date. I don't even know her name, or if she's even into women…I…" Callie sighed, this was stupid.

_What was she thinking...that the blonde would just fall head over heels in love with her?_

"Well, sitting around here isn't going to give you any of those answers mija." Lucia lovingly stated.

"What do I do…I can't just pop up at her hotel room?"

"Why not?" Aria shrugged.

Callie let out a deep sigh; she hadn't been able to get the blonde out of her mind ever since she had laid eyes on her yesterday.

"Maybe…maybe I could just say that I wanted to make sure the room was okay and that she's comfortable and stuff…right?" Callie worriedly glanced in between her mother and Aria, both Torres women smirking back at her knowingly.

Arizona had come back from the store and was stepping off of the elevator as she headed back towards her hotel suite. It had taken her exactly eleven minutes to go and come back.

As she pulled out her key card and opened the door, she instantly became worried when a crying Emma was standing just a few feet away.

"Please don't get mad?" The little girl worriedly whispered as her little body trembled. Her aunt had never hit her or been mean, but what she did in the bathroom may get her in trouble with the people from the hotel and then they would have to go back to Renee...and **she would** hurt her aunt.

Arizona nervously glanced around the room, "Emma…is somebody here…did somebody come in?"

_Had Renee found them? Is that why Emma was so scared? Had she let her in? _

Arizona began to panic as her breathing started to become labored.

Emma watched as her aunt dropped her bags on the nearest couch and ran around frantically checking all the rooms.

So far nothing looked out of order to Arizona and a wave of relief washed over her. The relief however was short lived as soon as she saw the reason for Emma's tears.

There was huge flood of water and bubbles all over the master bathroom floor.

She hurriedly ran into to the bathroom and towards the tub, Emma was right behind her but stood at the entrance of the bathroom.

"Oh…God…no, no, no, no, no…" Arizona worriedly stated as the bubbles and water continued to spill over the sides of the Jacuzzi.

Arizona spotted the culprit, an entire empty bottle of bubble bath floating on the surface of the water.

"I'm sorry." Emma cried as she saw her aunt start to panic even more.

"Emma…I told you not to touch anything." Arizona's voice cracked, her tears not far behind.

"You said in the kitchen…you didn't say anything about the bathroom. I'm soooorrryyyyy." Emma sobbed, she knew she had messed up big time.

"Good morning boss." Andrea happily greeted as she walked up to Callie.

The brunette awkwardly stopped dead in her tracks. She had been hoping she wouldn't be spotted.

"I have to say, I am surprised to see you here on a Saturday." The young woman stated. She knew this was the day Callie chose to spend with her daughter.

"Yeah, you know…I was um…in the neighborhood…and thought…heeeeyyyyy, why not stop in…and do stuff…maybe…catch up on work…or…something." Callie nervously rambled.

Andrea raised her eyebrows, "You were in the neighborhood?"

Callie nervously smiled back at her employee.

Andrea rolled her eyes.

"Okay, are we going to keep pretending that you came in 'to work'?" Andrea mocked as she used air quotes when she said, 'to work.'

"Or do you want me to give you the scoop on a certain mystery guest?"

"Because I have work to do and I can't be playing this game with you all morning."

Callie blushed with embarrassment.

"I will interpret your silence." Andrea stated as she continued to speak.

"She left the hotel about sixteen minutes ago…I'm assuming it was to get food."

"P.S., bad call on your part not setting her up with an open account so she and the kid could eat…"

"I did set her up with an open account so they cou…" Callie trailed of as she glanced around, there were people staring at them.

Andrea continued without a care in the world, "And she came back with two small shopping bags from that drugstore that's around the corner, obviously because she is unaware of said open account."

"Maybe…a certain somebody should go upstairs and let her know that she has the open account so she can order food from now on…and if that certain someone was smart…she would also take that opportunity to invite her and the little kid to breakfast…I'm just putting it out there…you know…but you…you do what you want." Andrea finished off as she walked away and back to work.

Callie blushed with embarrassment as some of her employees and a few hotel guests continued to stare. Andrea had left her standing alone awkwardly in the middle of the main lobby.

The brunette cleared her throat, straightened her jacket and with her head held high decided to finally head towards the elevators.

Arizona was a river of tears as she tried to get the water to stop. The more she would turn the knob, the more the water flowed and the hotter it came out, it wouldn't shut off…no matter which direction she would try to turn it in.

Then she tried pushing the button for the jets of the Jacuzzi to turn them off, but every time she pushed the button they got stronger, so now there was even more water and suds all over the floor of the hotel bathroom.

"Great…just great…why is this happening?" Arizona cried as she continued to try to stop the water.

"I can't…I…everything is so screwed up." The blonde sobbed loudly as she finally gave up and dejectedly sat down on the edge of the tub.

Arizona's body shook violently because of how hard she was sobbing. Her jeans were now completely soaked, and even though the water that was pouring out of the tub's faucet was super hot, the blonde was too busy breaking down and sobbing to even notice.

Arizona's tear stained face was being covered by her hands as she continued to sob.

_Now they would get kicked out of this hotel and she would really have to go back…she couldn't…she couldn't handle this anymore. She had no money, no friends, nobody that loved her, no way of paying for the damages they had now caused, and she was already running out of funds to keep feeding Emma and herself, and her meds would be running out soon…Renee was right…she had nothing and no one. How did her life get to this point?_

Emma cried harder when she saw her aunt sobbing into her hands, "I'm sorry...you can send me away if you want for being bad…but don't go back to Renee…please."

At Emma's statement Arizona only sobbed louder.

Callie was currently in the elevator pacing back and forth practicing what she would say to the beautiful blonde.

"Hey so…you looked hungry and I…"

"Oh God Torres, definitely don't say that. What the hell is wrong with you?" Callie chastised herself.

"Ummm…so, if you ever eat food…"

"Okay, that was even worse." Callie sighed.

"Okay, how about ummm…'I was thinking that you might be starving'…"

"Oh God…really? Just…shoot me now." Callie closed her eyes and shook her head from side to side.

Luckily the elevator dinged signaling that she had reached her destination so that she could no longer embarrass herself in private…now she could do it publicly in front of the pretty blonde and her kid.

"Here goes nothing." Callie stated as she took a deep breath, straightened her leather jacket and ran her hand through her hair one last time. She gave herself the once over in the mirrored wall at the end of the hall. She deemed herself ready and decisively walked towards the suite's door.

As she approached the door, Callie worriedly knitted her eyebrows as she noticed it was slightly open, the brunette popped her head in and decided to call out.

"Hello? Anybody here?" The brunette yelled.

"It's me…from downstairs."

"It's me from downstairs?" Callie questioningly whispered to herself. _Did she really just say that? Who says that?_

Once Callie had reached the living room, she could hear what seemed to be somebody crying loudly and what sounded like running water. She followed the sound which eventually led her to the master bathroom.

Emma felt somebody behind her so she turned her head and looked up to find the lady from last night. The little girl's tear filled eyes widened in fear as she pressed her back closer to the wall.

When Callie first took in the scene before her, her initial reaction was one of shock and worry. There was easily about two inches of soapy water completely flooding the bathroom floor. Her second reaction was one of utter confusion, _'Why was the water still running…and at full capacity none the less?'_

But her third reaction was one of heartbreak, and it quickly set in when she noticed the little girl from last night with tears running down her cheeks and looking back up at her with all the fear in the world reflected in those little blue eyes.

The little girl's mom was sitting on the edge of the tub crying, her whole body trembled as sobs continued to pour from her lips…she looked like someone who had just reached her breaking point and had no more to give.

Callie brought herself out of her momentary trance and finally stepped into the bathroom to try to rectify the situation.

The brunette cautiously walked through the slippery soap filled floor towards the tub, trying her hardest not to fall.

As she got closer to the tub she reached over to try to turn the faucet off.

Arizona felt somebody reaching over her and instinctively recoiled backwards in fear.

"NO! Please…please…" The blonde screamed as her hands came up to protect her face.

Callie watched as the blonde lost her balance and started to fall over into the Jacuzzi. Her arm hit the scalding hot water that was pouring out of the faucet and the side of her head hit the metal.

Callie reacted quickly as she grabbed the blonde and pulled her up.

"I'm sorry. Oh my God…I'm so sorry." The brunette profusely apologized as she sat the woman back up and noticed the blood running down the side of her face.

As Callie reached out to cup Arizona's face, the blonde flinched and moved her head back.

"I'm fine." She warningly stated.

Callie nodded her head and slowly pulled back her hands.

"I'm just going to shut off the water." Callie announced in a soft voice as she looked at the blonde's face seeking permission.

Arizona nodded, as she clutched her right arm. The hot water had really done a number on her.

Emma and Arizona carefully watched the brunette's every move.

Callie easily turned off the running water and then expertly clicked the button for the jets of the Jacuzzi three times, they turned off right away. The brunette then reached into the water, but quickly brought her hand back up when she felt how hot it was.

"Damn it!" Callie hissed and shook her hand slightly to try to cool it off. She wondered how the blonde had been able to sit on the edge of the tub and let the hot water completely soak her jeans.

Callie walked over to one of the drawers and grabbed the back scrubber that was still sealed in it's packaging. Not all rooms got items such as back scrubbers afforded to them…but hey, this was the Presidential Suite.

Emma and Arizona looked on as the brunette ripped the packaging off of the back scrubber and used the end of it to fish around in the water.

Callie found what she was looking for and lifted it up. It was a soaking wet, Torres Hotel washcloth. It must have fallen in and clogged the side drain that was installed in each of the Jacuzzi's. The side drain was a safety feature to keep the water from overflowing therefore avoiding floods…such as the one she was currently standing in. She tossed the wet towel into the sink that was closest to her.

Callie turned back to face the two blondes, who were now next to each other as the little girl had made her way over to hug her mother.

"I almost drowned in a foot of water once when I was seventeen." Callie awkwardly blurted out.

Arizona confusingly looked at the brunette, out of all the things that she had expected to come out of the brunette's mouth…and Arizona had been imagining some colorful statements…she would have never, ever, in a million years imagined those words.

Callie nervously smiled; the two other occupants in the bathroom kept staring at her like she had grown a second head.

"Somebody I loved very much once told me that when somebody has an embarrassing moment, you should make them feel more comfortable by telling them an embarrassing story about yourself."

"Personally, I've found that my drowning in a foot of water story has always been a really nice ice breaker at parties…especially when people find out I grew up in Miami."

The two blonde's continued to awkwardly stare at her, so Callie trudged forward.

"You know what, you're right…that is a story for another day. I should have gone with the classic, never fail ice breaker…name introductions." Callie nodded her head up and down.

As the two blondes continued to stare at her, Callie nervously swallowed.

"Okay, I'll start…I'm Callie." She smiled as she stuck out her hand.

"Are you going to kick us out?" Emma worriedly asked.

Callie chuckled, "A woman who gets right down to business…I like that." Callie winked at Emma, the little girl smiling back at her.

"My name is Emma." She happily stated.

"Emma!" Arizona chastised. She had told Emma that they couldn't give people their names for now; it would be too easy for Renee to find them that way.

Emma worriedly bit her lip and shamefully looked down, she forgot about not telling people her name.

Callie leaned over to shake Emma's hand, "Nice to meet you Emma…and no, I'm not going to kick you out."

Emma gave Callie a dimpled smile and returned the handshake.

Callie stuck her hand out towards Arizona.

"I can't give you my name." The blonde worriedly stated as she cautiously stared at Callie's hand, and then her face.

"Okay." Callie nodded in understanding.

"Although, I have to tell ya…you're ruining my ice breaker exercise….and now I have to go back and tell my therapist that I no longer know how to introduce myself and make new friends…and all because of the pretty blonde that wouldn't give me her name." The brunette playfully smirked.

Callie watched as a smile tugged at the corners of the blonde's lips, but she unconsciously looked around afterwards. Callie figured that smiling at others was probably one of the things that she used to get hit for…and therefore a big no no in her eyes.

"Is your arm okay?" Callie worriedly asked as she pointed to the blonde's bright red arm.

"Yeah." She whispered her reply, but continued to hold it tightly to her body.

"May I?" Callie pointed towards the wound on the blonde's head.

She was seeking permission, and was careful with her movements. She didn't want to startle the blonde and trigger another reaction like she had before, which is the same reason why the blonde currently had the gash on her head and the skin on her arm was now raw.

Arizona nodded and let Callie get near her; the brunette gently cupped her face, Arizona only flinching slightly.

As Callie's gentle fingers pushed her hair away from her face, Arizona closed her eyes. She discreetly inhaled Callie's scent, she smelled sooooo good. Arizona couldn't help herself as she continued to inhale, it was such a familiar scent…it was soothing…her touch was soothing, and safe…Arizona never wanted this moment to end.

At the sound of Callie's voice, she opened her eyes.

"It doesn't look like you'll need stitches, but we should…" Callie trailed off into a whisper as brown eyes connected with blue.

They remained staring at each other, Callie's hands never once leaving her gentle hold on the blonde's face.

"What were you saying?" Arizona whispered over Callie's lips.

"You um…" Callie awkwardly cleared throat as she finally let go of the woman's face and stood back up to her normal height.

"Ummm…it doesn't need stitches…but…I…I would like to clean out the cut…just so it doesn't get infected."

"Thank you doctor." Arizona teasingly smiled but then caught herself. _Why was she being so friendly with Callie?_

Callie chuckled, "I am a doctor…miss high and mighty…you're not the only one in this bathroom that went to med school." She teased as she looked through the cabinets of the bathroom and pulled out the first aid kit.

Arizona smiled; Callie had remembered she was a doctor. She couldn't help but feel happy that even though she was a mess during their first encounter, the brunette had remembered something positive about her. It seemed like for so long only the negative things about her were what she would be reminded of constantly.

"What kind of a doctor?" Emma asked, Arizona slightly grateful for her nosey niece…she was interested in knowing also.

Callie smiled at her as she started to take out what she needed from the first aid kit, "I used to be an Orthopedic Surgeon."

"Use to be?" The little girl continued her line of questioning.

"Yeah, but I don't practice anymore."

"What does that mean?" Emma asked.

"It means that I don't do it anymore."

"Why not?" Emma innocently asked.

Arizona watched as Callie stopped what she was doing and got a far-away look in her eyes, the brunette absentmindedly fiddled with the ring on her necklace.

"That is a story for another day Emma." Callie sadly smiled at the little girl.

"Emma, why don't you go and watch TV for a little?" Arizona suggested.

Emma worriedly looked at her aunt and stood in front of her protectively; every time she was told to go watch TV it meant something bad was going to happen to her aunt. Callie better not try anything, she was starting to like her.

Callie raised her eyebrows as she looked down at Emma, who seemed to be ready to fight her.

The brunette amusingly smiled, "Hey…I thought we were friends?"

"What are you going to do?" Emma worriedly asked as she pointed to the supplies in Callie's hands.

"I'm going to make sure your mommy's head is okay."

Arizona smiled, "Emma, its fine." She gave the little girl a kiss on the cheek and sent her off into the living room.

"She's very protective of you." Callie stated as she soothingly passed some aloe cream on Arizona's arm.

Arizona chuckled, "Only because she thought she could take you."

Callie laughed at the blonde's statement as she finished bandaging her arm.

"This is going to sting." Callie warned as she gently pressed a cotton ball soaked in alcohol over the gash on the side of Arizona's head.

"Ssssss…" Arizona winced slightly as she hissed in pain.

"I'm sorry." Callie tenderly stated as she pulled away the cotton ball and blew soothing puffs of air over the cut.

"Better?" She asked as she stared deeply into the woman's beautiful blue orbs.

Arizona slowly nodded her head, "Thank you."

Both women shared a smile, Callie continuing to clean up Arizona's wound.

"She's my niece." Arizona whispered as Callie finished up.

Callie nodded, "Okay…so, you're a doctor. You have a niece named Emma and…"

"What are you doing?" Arizona worriedly asked. Callie was taking notes on all the little bits of information she kept picking up.

"I'm just getting to know you…breaking the ice remember?"

"Yeah, well don't. I don't do that."

At the look of hurt that crossed Callie's features, Arizona instantly felt bad. She owed so much to the brunette already…as she had been nothing but helpful.

Arizona shook her head from side to side, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Callie stated.

Arizona sighed as Callie started to clean up her supplies.

"It's…it's just that I obviously didn't come here in the best conditions, and I'm sure you've figured out that the bruises on my body aren't because I'm a klutz." Arizona sadly stated as she bowed her head in shame.

She wished she could tell Callie her name, she wished she could tell her a lot of things. But she just met her…and she was grateful for the help she had given her so far, but she already knew too much.

If she told Callie her name, one google search of doctors in Seattle named Arizona and that was it. She couldn't risk Renee finding her and Emma. She had promised Emma, and she intended to make good on her promise.

"Hey." The brunette gently lifted the blonde's chin, Arizona surprising herself by not flinching at the contact.

"Let's just say that that's a story for another day."

"You keep saying that." Arizona sadly smiled at the brunette, as Callie continued to gently hold her face.

"Yeah, my wi…" Callie caught her slip up and awkwardly cleared her throat.

"It's something you say when you can't tell somebody something in that moment, but you like that person, and you trust that person…so you know that when the time is right…you'll tell them. You let them know that it's a story for another day…and that way…you're promising them that you'll stick around."

"What makes you so sure I'm going to stick around?" Arizona whispered a few inches away from Callie's lips, brown eyes and blue eyes intently gazing at each other.

"I have a…" Callie started to answer, but their moment was interrupted when Emma came back into the bathroom.

"Were these for me?" The little girl asked as she held up a bag of powdered doughnuts.

"Well, if they weren't we'd be in trouble." Arizona giggled as Emma's lips had white powder all over them, evidence that she had already started eating from the bag.

Callie joined in the giggling when she looked the little girl's way and spotted the same evidence.

"Oh, that reminds me." Callie stated out loud as she stood upright yet again, Arizona already missing the contact of the woman's hands on her face.

"I opened up a charge account to the room. So you guys can get room service whenever you want…anything you need really, toiletries, food…anything."

"Callie, we can't. Won't you get in trouble?"

"No." Was the brunette's short reply as she avoided eye contact with the blonde.

She would tell her when the time was right that she was the owner of this hotel…and a bunch more all around the world. Although the blonde was in the situation that she was in, Callie could tell she was a proud woman...telling her that she was the owner of the hotel may cause her to flee, and Callie really wanted to get to know her.

At Callie's sudden strange behavior, Arizona suspiciously eyed her; apparently she wasn't the only one with secrets.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Grey's Anatomy character(s) and/or settings portrayed in this story. This story is for entertainment purposes only.**

**A/N: Wow, I am seriously blown away by all the wonderful feedback on this story. I can't express my gratitude enough. You guys are awesome. School starts today, but I will try to update regularly…I'm pretty good with updating.**

Lucia apprehensively knocked on the door to her daughter's home office. As she heard Callie's voice telling her to come in she clutched a little tighter to the envelope in her hand.

Callie was sitting at her desk; she was going over some financial reports for the shelter. At the sound of the office door opening, she looked up to see who it was and brightly smiled when she saw it was her mother.

"Hi mama." She cheerfully proclaimed.

Lucia automatically mirrored Callie's happiness; it was good to see her daughter in such good spirits. She knew the mysterious blonde that had come into their lives a few days ago had a lot to do with it.

"Did you need something?" Callie asked.

At her daughter's question, Lucia's smile quickly faded as she remembered her reason for coming to see Callie.

"Is something wrong?" Callie worriedly asked when she noticed the sudden change in her mother's countenance.

"I…you received another letter." Lucia held up the envelope.

"Put it with the others." Callie harshly replied as she went back to her reports.

"Mija…I think you should…"

"_I_ _said_…_put..it..with..the..others_." Callie was breathing heavily, she felt a knot in her chest just looking at the envelope. Her voice slightly cracked at the end as she looked back towards her mother.

Callie knew who the letter was from; it was from the case worker assigned to the transplant patient that had become the recipient of her wife's heart. Six months after a transplant the recipient is allowed to seek out the donor's family to try to make contact.

Callie had received several letters after Melissa's death but had never opened any of them. Everything was done through the case worker so that names and addresses would not be given out and everything could remain anonymous, unless the families decided that they wanted to meet…then the case worker would set something up. However, Callie had decided a long time ago not to acknowledge the letters period.

"Mija…" Lucia lovingly whispered. She normally wouldn't push, the letters use to come every six months, but in the last year and a half they had been sending them every few months.

"I have a lot of work to do mama." The younger brunette stated, the pain in her eyes clearly evident.

Callie went back to her reports yet again, hoping that this time her mother would understand it was the end of their conversation.

"Okay." Lucia nodded; although Callie was no longer paying attention to her she sadly smiled her way.

The older Torres left her daughter's office and made a mental note to go and place the newest letter along with all the other ones.

As soon as the door closed behind Lucia a tear tracked down Callie's cheek, she angrily wiped it away and tried to continue working but her memories started to plague her.

"_Where are you taking me?" Callie chuckled as her wife led her up some stairs, her hands over Callie's eyes._

"_You have no patience." Melissa teased._

"_I have no patience? It's the middle of winter…I'm freezing my ass off…and I'm up at the crack of dawn appeasing my crazy wife…with God knows what by the way…I…I am as patient as they come."_

"_Yeah…yeah…stop being a grouch." The redhead lovingly pecked Callie's cheek, her hands still covering the brunette's eyes from behind._

"_You know I hate mornings." Callie whined, Melissa simply smirked at her pouting wife._

"_Shhh…keep your eyes closed." She requested as they came to a stop and she removed her hands from her wife's eyes._

_Callie heard her wife step away and then open what sounded like a really heavy metal door._

_Melissa grabbed Callie by the hand and slowly led her through the door, the brunette's eyes still tightly shut._

"_Open your eyes." The redhead whispered in her wife's ear from behind._

_After opening her eyes and looking around, Callie raised a questioning eyebrow at her wife, "The roof of my father's hotel?"_

"_No."_

_Callie looked around yet again and then back at her wife, "Ummm…I'm pretty sure this is the roof of my father's hotel."_

_Melissa rolled her eyes, "Because you're not picturing it…you have to look beyond your nose." Melissa playfully poked Callie's nose._

"_Come with me." She grabbed Callie by the hand and excitedly ran over to the southwest corner of the roof. _

_As they reached a certain spot, Melissa let go of Callie's hand and stood in the middle of the empty space, she outstretched her arms and twirled in a circle._

"_What are you doing?" Callie chuckled at her wife's antics._

"_I'm getting a feel for it...I think it'll be perfect." She smiled towards Callie._

_Callie walked over and grabbed Melissa by the hips, their bodies crashing together._

"_Perfect for what?" She husked over soft lips._

"_Our garden."_

"_A garden? I thought we were going to…you know?" Callie wiggled her eyebrows, Melissa giggling at her wife's antics._

"_OUR garden." She smiled brightly._

"_Okay…our garden…but it's the middle of winter...I don't think now…"_

"_No…don't be negative. Picture it…right here."_

_Callie watched as Melissa started to walk around and paint a mental picture for her of how the garden would look._

"_We can have a greenhouse garden. We can grow certain plants and flowers during the winter months…and add different ones during spring and summer. We will have a work station…and somewhere to store our tools. It'll be beautiful…and we can come in the afternoons and watch the sunset…because you really aren't the friendliest person in the morning." She teasingly stated the last part._

_Callie chuckled at the statement._

"_Why a garden all of a sudden?" She lovingly asked as she slowly tucked some hair behind her wife's ear._

"_Because we are trying to get pregnant and grow a little seed of our own…a new life…it's symbolic… and…I've always wanted to have something like this, but I just hadn't been able to find the right person."_

"_So…am I the right person?" Callie flirted._

_Melissa shrugged her shoulders, "Meh…I had a few candidates…but…you were the best kisser." She playfully stated as she leaned in for a kiss._

"Mami?"

Callie was brought out of her thoughts when she heard her daughter's voice.

"Hey baby…what you doing?" She asked, Sofia smiling brightly as she ran towards her mother's open arms.

"Oh…I really needed that." Callie stated as Sofia hugged her tightly and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Mami, do you love me?" Sofia asked as she settled into Callie's lap and started exploring the contents of her mother's desk.

"Of course I do baby." Callie answered as she ran her fingers through her daughter's hair.

"Why?"

Callie chuckled, "Well, because you're my beautiful baby, and you give the best hugs, and you're super duper smart."

"Do you love me?" Callie playfully retorted.

Sofia nodded her head.

"Why?" Callie inquired.

"Because when I look at you I wish little stars would float out of my eyes like on TV." Sofia stated as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"Little stars huh?"

"Yup…that's how you know it's true love." Sofia answered as she was now drawing on a blank piece of paper with one of Callie's highlighters.

Callie smiled at her daughter as she gave her a kiss on the cheek; she grabbed a highlighter and proceeded to help Sofia draw her picture.

The next morning as Callie's alarm went off she couldn't help but wake up with a smile on her face. Today marked one week since a certain mysterious blonde and her cute as a button niece had entered her life.

Callie had been visiting the blonde every day, but had yet to get any information from her. She still hadn't given Callie her name and kept refusing all of Callie's invitations to dinner…but even with all of that Callie still felt a deep rooted connection with the blonde that she just couldn't explain.

Arizona had woken up about an hour ago and was currently standing in front of the bathroom mirror.

"What are you doing?" Emma asked her aunt as she stepped inside of the bathroom.

Arizona looked over at her niece and smiled as she picked her up and sat her on top of the vanity,

"Where's my good morning kiss?" She asked.

Emma smiled and puckered her little lips to meet with her aunt's cheek.

"Thank you." Arizona stated.

"You didn't answer my question." Emma complained as she pointed to the item in her aunt's hands, Arizona was currently putting on make-up.

Ever since Callie had let her know that she had an open account for the room, the blonde had only used it to order food. She was careful to just order the essentials; she didn't want to take advantage. But since she had some cash leftover because of not having to spend it on food, she had gone back to the corner drugstore and bought some make-up. It wasn't the best quality, but it would do the job. She wanted to be able to try to hide some of the bruises from around her face and neck. Some of them were starting to fade, and with a little bit of cover up she was doing a pretty good job at hiding the others…a ritual she had grown all too accustomed to.

"Putting on make-up."

"Why? We only see Callie."

Arizona smirked, "That is exactly why. She should be here soon and I want to look pretty."

"Okay." Emma shrugged.

"Aunty Zona?"

"Hmmm?" Arizona mumbled as she was applying some lip gloss.

"Can we ask Callie to buy us some clothes?"

"No…Emma…don't you dare say anything to her. Callie is already doing enough." Arizona warningly stated as she looked at her niece.

"Well, how long am I going to have to keep wearing the same stuff…it's dirty."

"It's not dirty. I wash them every night in the laundry room."

Arizona would give Emma her bath, and then wrap her up in one of the hotel issued bathrobes as she headed downstairs and used the hotel's laundry facility. She would do the same with her clothes during the early morning hours when everyone was asleep…including Emma, that way she wouldn't be seen by so many people as she went down in her bathrobe to the washroom, and so that her niece wouldn't have the opportunity to flood half of Seattle.

Callie had 'casually' mentioned in conversation that they had a twenty-four hour complimentary dry cleaning service, but Arizona didn't want to keep taking advantage.

Emma huffed and crossed her arms, "It's still dirty." She mumbled.

Arizona's eyes glistened with tears and her voice cracked as she looked at her niece, "I'm trying my hardest Emma."

At the sight of Arizona starting to cry the little girl quickly leaned over and hugged her aunt.

"I'm sorry…please don't cry aunty Zona…please…I didn't mean it...I'm sorry."

And Emma didn't mean it, Renee used to make her aunt sad and she didn't want to be anything like Renee.

"I know you didn't…it's okay."

Arizona leaned back from the hug and cupped Emma's cheeks, "I know that everything is really hard right now…and that we've had it rough…but…"Arizona swallowed thickly.

"If you just give me a little bit of time I…I promise that I will make everything better."

"It's already getting better…right?" Emma looked at her aunt with hopeful eyes. She was happy at the hotel, and she liked Callie…she was nice…and the best part was not having to see Renee be mean anymore.

Arizona smiled at her niece's question as thoughts of Callie automatically poured into her mind.

"Yeah…it's definitely getting better."

"Now come on…help me look pretty before Callie gets here."

"What is this?" Andrea complained as she pointed to the items in Callie's hands.

Callie raised her eyebrows, "Well, theeeeeese are coffeeeeees…" She drawled out slowly.

"…and these are baaaaaageeeeeels."

Andrea rolled her eyes, "I know what they are Callie."

"Then why'd you ask?" The brunette continued her route towards the elevators, Andrea hot on her heels.

"How is she ever going to go out on a date with you if you keep bringing her food…which is usually a first date event you know…dinner and a movie."

"We just met for God's sake…she's…she's got a lot going on…she's in no state to be dating…I am respecting her space…I'm making sure…"

"Oh, she turned you down didn't she?" Andrea sympathetically looked at her boss.

"What? No..."

Andrea raised her eyebrows knowingly.

"She didn't ok...I'm…I'm taking it slow." Callie defended as she stepped into the elevator and hit the button to go upstairs.

Andrea sadly shook her head from side to side in disappointment.

As the doors were closing Callie spoke up, "I'm building a foundation."

"Foundation my ass…she turned you down." Andrea mumbled to herself as she headed back towards the front desk.

As Arizona heard Callie's familiar knock, she turned to Emma, "How do I look?"

"Very pretty."

Arizona smiled as she took a deep breath and made her way to open the door for Callie.

"Hey!" Callie happily greeted.

"Hey…please come in." Arizona opened the door fully and stepped to the side so Callie could come in.

"Thanks." Callie smiled.

"I uh…I brought doughnuts…um…because…I noticed you like them even though you didn't mention them yesterday…but I brought the bagels you ordered…and um…I bought coffee for us…and a hot chocolate for Emma…I hope that's okay?"

"It's great. Thanks." Arizona stated as they made their way towards the table.

Callie would bring different foods every day. She would always ask Arizona what she wanted to eat the day before and then bring just that the next day. Arizona couldn't help but smile every time. It seemed like such a simple and insignificant gesture, choosing her own meals, but it was one that Arizona hadn't had the pleasure or liberty of doing in over a year and a half because of being with Renee.

"Let me just go get Emma." Arizona informed Callie as she went in search of her niece.

Callie went to the kitchen and fixed three plates, she placed one bagel and one doughnut on each plate. She brought them over to the table…as well as their drinks, packets of cream cheese, butter, and jelly.

"This looks delicious…thank you." Arizona stated as she and Emma sat down and they all started eating.

"Hey…um…so I was thinking…we've already known each other for a week." Callie nervously stated.

Arizona nodded as she took a sip from her coffee.

"Maybe we should celebrate?" Callie shrugged.

"Celebrate what?" The blonde teasingly questioned. She was really starting to feel more comfortable in her own skin, or maybe it was just being around Callie?

"Our…week-a-versary."

Emma giggled, "That's not even a thing."

Arizona chuckled at the look of devastation that took over Callie's features after Emma's statement.

"It is so a thing." Callie defended.

"Whatever you say." Emma answered in a sing song voice as she shook her head from side to side.

"So…um…what do you think?" Callie nervously looked over towards the older blonde.

"Emma's right it's not a thing." Arizona answered as she shrugged her shoulders and took a bite of her doughnut.

"Oh...okay." Callie replied, the blonde had yet again turned down her invitation…nothing new.

"…but we could do something if you want." Arizona smirked.

"Really?"

Arizona chuckled at the surprise evident in Callie's tone.

"Yes really."

"Okay…great." Callie nodded happily as she got up from the table and hurriedly made her way to the door.

"Where are you going? You haven't even finished breakfast." Arizona questioned.

"I'm leaving before you have time to change your mind." Callie smiled as she wiggled her eyebrows.

Arizona laughed out loud and shook her head from side to side as the door closed behind Callie.

The rest of Callie's work day seemed to drag on forever; she was excited about being able to spend some time with the mysterious blonde outside of her hotel room. She had finally finished working and was currently at home trying to get ready for her date…or her whatever it was that was happening tonight.

The blonde had called Andrea at the front desk earlier that day and had asked to speak with Callie. She told Callie that she wanted to make sure that it was okay to take Emma, because she really didn't have anywhere to leave her. Callie told her that of course it was okay and that she would bring Sofia so the girls could keep each other company.

"Woah…what happened in here?" Aria asked as she walked into her sister's bedroom. There were clothes thrown all over her sister's bed.

"I can't find an outfit for tonight." Callie worriedly looked over at Aria.

Aria smiled, "You really like her."

"Yeah, but…I'm…"

"Mami, I'm ready for our date...but abuela is ruining everything." Sofia huffed as she ran into her mother's room, Lucia running behind her.

"She insists on wearing this ridiculous outfit Calliope…I've tried to explain to her it's not appropriate for tonight." Lucia sighed, the frustration in her voice not going unnoticed by her two daughters.

Callie and Aria good naturedly laughed at their poor mother.

"Sof, you can't wear your ballerina costume to our date."

"Why not?"

"Because for one, abuela is right…it's not appropriate…and two, it's a little nippy out."

It was still early spring in Seattle and the temperature was supposed to drop tonight, it wasn't going to be freezing but pants and jackets would probably come in handy.

As her mother took her abuela's side, Sofia crossed her arms and her lips formed a pout.

"How about a compromise?" Callie asked.

"What does that mean?"

"It means we make a deal that will make us both happy, and then we shake on it."

"Okkaaaaaaay." Sofia begrudgingly agreed.

"You can wear your thin pink sweater on top, take your white and pink jacket, your thickest pair of leggings that match, and you can wear the tutu…with a pair of sneakers and socks."

"I can wear the tutu?"

Callie nodded.

"Okay. Come on abuela." Sofia stated as she grabbed Lucia's hand and led her out of the room.

"Poor mama." Aria stated, as the two sisters laughed some more at their mother's expense.

Callie finished getting dressed, Aria helping her finally decide on an outfit. She opted for a simple pair of jeans and a dark purple top. She wore her leather jacket and a pair of boots. She thought about the fact that her date and her niece really didn't have any other clothes choices other than the jeans and t-shirts they had been wearing when they first showed up at the hotel; she didn't want to overdress and make them feel uncomfortable. She had taken all of those factors into account as well as a couple more when planning for tonight's date.

Callie grabbed an extra jacket from her closet and then one from Sofia's, both brunettes saying their goodbyes to Aria and Lucia as they headed out the door.

"So, who is she?" Sofia asked her mother as they drove towards the hotel.

"A friend."

"What's her name?"

"Emma."

"Mami, I know that." Sofia rolled her eyes.

Her mother had told her a bunch of times already about the little girl that would be on the date also, that way she wouldn't be bored all alone with only the two grown-ups.

"I meant your friend's name."

"Oh…" Callie stalled momentarily; she had yet to know the beautiful blonde's name.

"I don't really know it baby."

"What? How do you not know her name?"

"Sof, it's complicated…she…"

Callie watched as Sofia's eyes looked at her expectantly.

"It's Jane Doe." Callie finally answered with a sigh.

"Is she related to the Pillsbury Dough Boy?" Sofia excitedly asked.

Callie chuckled, "No…it's…it's just a name you give to someone when they don't have a name…it's…"

Callie looked through her rearview mirror, her daughter seemed completely confused.

"Yeah, she's related to him." Callie replied.

Sofia gasped in surprise at Callie's answer, "Maybe she can get me his autograph…like when we went to Disney and I got Mickey's."

"Maybe." Callie smiled.

They finally reached the hotel and Callie left her car parked with the Valet, she and Sofia headed upstairs.

"Hi!" Callie happily greeted.

Arizona smiled brightly at both Callie and her daughter, she could tell that Callie had gone out of her way to try to not overdress, and she was completely touched by the gesture. She had been worrying about her and Emma's clothes all day and being too underdressed.

"You guys ready to go?" Callie asked.

Arizona nodded as they stepped into the hall.

"Sof, why don't you and Emma go push the button on the elevator for us?" Callie requested.

"Okay. Come on Emma." Sofia stated as she and Emma ran towards the end of the hall.

"If it comes don't…" Callie started to warningly yell after her daughter, but was cut off by Sofia.

"I know…I know…just go inside and hold the door until you come."

Arizona chuckled as Sofia rolled her eyes.

"She's cute."

"Yeah, that's why I keep her." Callie smiled.

"I um…" Callie nervously swallowed.

"What's the matter?" Arizona asked.

"First of all, you look very pretty." Callie sweetly smiled, Arizona blushing at the compliment. Callie had seen her all week in the same clothes, but she had done her make-up and let her wavy locks fall loosely on her shoulders.

"The other thing is that I brought you something and…I don't want you to take it the wrong way. I would never, ever tell you how to dress, or belittle you, or anything…I just thought you should wear…"

Arizona knitted her eyebrows and took a step back, as she looked down at her clothes and pulled down on her t-shirt.

Callie quickly reached out for the blonde, but Arizona flinched and pulled her hands away from Callie.

"I'm sorry…please…" Arizona worriedly whispered as her whole body started to shake.

"_**I thought I told you what you should wear…why would you defy me?"**_

"_**Only sluts dress like that Arizona."**_

"_**You just want to call everybody's attention and piss me off…you do it all the time…but that's okay…I'll make sure that you never do it again…GET IN THE HOUSE!"**_

Callie watched as the blonde's eyes seemed to be glossed over, she was stuck in some sort of a trance or a flashback.

"I'll change…I'll just change…" Arizona started to repeat over and over again as she huddled her body closer to the hotel room's door.

"Please…I'm sorry…please…I'll just change…" The blonde pleaded as her hands were currently protectively covering her own face.

As Callie reached out and brought down Arizona's hands, she screamed bloody murder, "NOOOOOO….PLEEEEASSEEEE!"

"I'll change…pleeeaassseeee…I'll just chaaaaange…" She sobbed pleadingly.

"Hey…hey…look at me…it's me…I'm not going to hurt you...it's Callie...you're fine…you don't have to change…it's okay…look at me." Callie lovingly whispered as she gently cupped the blonde's face in her hands.

Arizona was breathing heavily, but her tear filled eyes started to focus on Callie, the brunette was softly passing her thumbs over her cheeks.

Arizona contined to cry and her whole body trembled.

"It's okay…it's okay." Callie reassured.

"I'm…I'm sss…sorry." She apologized as she saw the look of worry on Callie's face, her body still trembling.

"Shhh…no…don't ever apologize for being scared. It's okay. Come here." Callie stated as she brought the blonde in for a hug.

When they heard Arizona screaming, Emma and Sofia had run out of the elevator and back into the hall.

Emma had tears in her eyes, "Is your mom going to hit my aunt?" She fearfully asked Sofia.

Sofia was scared also, she didn't understand why her mami's friend was screaming and crying, but she knew her mami would never hurt Emma's aunt.

"My mami would never hit anybody."

"Even if my aunt was bad and made a mistake?"

"You're not bad if you make a mistake…I make mistakes all the time…and I'm bad too…but she doesn't hit me…she just says a bunch of things in Spanish." Sofia stated as she hugged her new friend that was crying.

Once Arizona had calmed down, Callie broke the hug, Arizona missing her comforting warmth immediately.

"I'm so embarrassed. I'm sorry." She apologized in between sniffles as she wiped at her tears.

Callie smiled at the blonde, "It's fine. I didn't mean to scare you…I just…" Callie sighed.

"I wanted to let you know I brought extra jackets for you and Emma. It's a little cold out and you guys only have the short sleeves…maybe I should have brought them up with me…I don't…"

Arizona tenderly smiled at the brunette, "Thank you for being so understanding." _And so perfect. _ Arizona quietly finished the rest of her thought.

"You're welcome." Callie smiled back.

"Now come on, we have a date to get to…your chariot awaits m'lady." Callie stated as she playfully bowed to Arizona.

Arizona giggled at Callie's antics as they made their way towards the elevator. Once inside the elevator, Emma and Sofia started chatting about some kid's TV show, the little girl a lot more relaxed now that she saw that her aunt was indeed okay.

Arizona noticed Callie reach her hand out towards hers, but then hesitate and pull it back to her own body. Arizona knew that Callie was being cautious and trying to avoid scaring her again or triggering another flashback, but Arizona really wanted to hold that hand.

A smile crept on Callie's face as she felt warm fingers intertwine with her own; the brunette looked over towards the blonde to gauge her reaction. Although she had her face facing forward, Callie could still make out the dimpled smile that graced the blonde's features.

A comfortable silence fell upon them as the four of them made their journey down towards the lobby.

After a few more minutes, Sofia's small voice rang through the elevator as she looked up at her mami's friend.

"Mrs. Pillsbury, do you think you can get me Mr. Pillsbury's autograph?"

**A/N: Up next…their date.**

**Also, I struggled with this chapter. I'm trying to keep the story moving at a nice pace, while still providing some more insight and background into the characters. Arizona is coming out of an abusive relationship, so she will be hesitant with Callie at first, but I still want to try to show that there is something there between them...hopefully that's working out for me. LOL!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Grey's Anatomy character(s) and/or settings portrayed in this story, as well as the mention of any outside material. This story is for entertainment purposes only.**

**A/N: Thanks for all the wonderful feedback.**

They had been driving for about ten minutes and Callie had yet to let go of the blonde's hand. They had been stealing flirty glances the whole time as well.

"Okay, so why does your daughter think I'm the Pillsbury Dough Boy's wife?" Arizona laughed.

"You try to explain to an almost four year old what 'Jane Doe' means." Callie teased as she looked towards the blonde.

Arizona rolled her eyes.

"Are you ever going to give me your name?" Callie quietly asked as her eyes pleaded with the blonde.

At Callie's question, Arizona quickly removed her hand from the brunette's and then turned her head to look out the window.

"I'm sorry…I can't." She sadly whispered.

She liked Callie…a lot…but she was so afraid of what would happen if Renee would find her and Emma. She couldn't risk it.

Callie nodded slowly and continued to drive. She knew the blonde's concerns as to why she couldn't give out her name, but Callie would be lying to herself if she said it didn't hurt a little. She had been trying to show the blonde that she was trustworthy and someone that she could count on, somebody that could help her get her life back on track.

As the mood in the car shifted, Callie decided to pull her car into a shopping plaza and park.

Sofia and Emma were in the back laughing at a movie Callie had put on for them, each of them watching from their own screens that were installed in the back of the brunette's car. The two girls were so enthralled in the movie that they hadn't even noticed they had come to a stop.

Callie turned in her seat to face the blonde.

"I um…" Callie trailed off.

She had upset her date, and now it just felt super awkward and she didn't know how to fix it.

As she heard Callie's voice, Arizona turned her head to face her.

"Can we start over? Because I feel like I blew it by asking you that question and…"

Arizona tenderly smiled, "No, I'm sorry Callie…I know I'm being difficult…and you've been absolutely wonderful this whole time...I just..." Arizona sighed.

"Can we just focus on our week-a-versary celebration?" Arizona proposed.

Callie nodded as both women shared a small smile.

"Okay, I um…I didn't know what you preferred as far as dates went…but I figured I could give you choices."

Arizona nodded so that Callie could continue, the mood in the car already shifting back to the earlier happier one.

"We have Option A, which is a restaurant and a movie…or Option B…picnic dinner in the park and grab some dessert afterwards…I figured Emma might prefer that since she's been cooped up all week."

"I think I like B." Arizona answered.

B was quieter and had less crowds to deal with at this time of night, which meant less of a chance that they could run into Renee. Also, Callie was right…Emma needed fresh air. She loved how considerate Callie was of both her and Emma's needs.

"Okay, B it is." Callie smiled widely as she turned the car back on and headed off to their destination.

They had stopped off for pizza and brought it with them to their picnic dinner. Callie had also bought drinks and chips. They picked a quiet spot on top of a grassy hilled area. The brunette had spread out a huge blanket that they were all currently sitting on.

Arizona was wearing the jacket Callie had brought for her. She loved the fact that it was Callie's, which is why she kept wrapping it around herself tighter every moment she got. It was warm and toasty, and it smelled so good...just like Callie. It felt as if the brunette was hugging her.

"Mami, can Emma and I roll down the hill?" Sofia asked.

Callie would have normally said yes because it was a small hill, but the grass was kind of wet and the last thing her date needed was to have to try to wash out Emma's grass stained jeans later on tonight.

"No, how about you do something else." Callie suggested.

"There's nothing else to do here." Sofia huffed and crossed her arms.

Callie raised her eyebrow, "Really? There's nothing else to do…in this great big park…with swings, and slides, and monkey bars, and…"

"Okay, okay…we'll go to the swings…God." Sofia got up and took Emma by the hand as they ran to the swings.

Arizona chuckled at the little girl, "How old did you say she was?"

"She was born early, she will be four in a few weeks…but sometimes I swear she's the parent."

"I learned a long time ago that it's Sofia's world and I'm just living in it." Callie chuckled.

Arizona smiled, "It's good…she's independent and strong willed…good qualities to have when you're older."

"Bad qualities to have when you're driving mami up a wall." Callie playfully rolled her eyes, Arizona giggling at her antics.

"How old is Emma? I mean, if you don't mind me asking…if not, I get it…because..."

"She's five." Arizona answered with a smirk, effectively cutting off Callie's nervous ramble.

She had noticed the brunette did it a lot when she was nervous. The other thing that Arizona had noticed was that when she was sad, Callie would twirl the ring on her necklace.

"What about school?" Callie inquired, she had secretly been wondering ever since she met the pair...but had been cautious with her questions, because the blonde would always shut down on her when she got too personal.

"Her birthday is a few months after the first day of school, so she wasn't old enough to start when I went last year to enroll her. So now I have to wait until the new school year starts up again so she can start kindergarten…and like right after she'll turn six...so she'll always be a year behind."

"She's pretty smart from what I've seen…maybe after a few months you could ask for a placement test to get her in the right grade level for her age. Same thing happened with my sister because of her birthday, but I think maybe it was first or second grade that my dad got the school to test her and she was moved up."

Arizona nodded.

"You mention your dad a lot…are you close?" The blonde asked while she absentmindedly picked at the pieces of grass near the sides of the blanket. Callie had mentioned her father several times during this week.

"We were very close but…he passed away a few years back."

"I'm sorry."

Callie sadly smiled at Arizona.

"My brother and his wife died in a car accident…a drunk driver…that's why I have Emma." Arizona sadly whispered.

Callie's eyes glistened with unshed tears as she automatically brought her hand up to her necklace; her wife had died because of the same reason. The action did not go unnoticed by Arizona.

After a few minutes of silence between the two women, Callie's spoke up, "Do you think everything happens for a reason?"

Arizona let out an incredulous chuckle, "God, I hope so…because if not…the Universe is just out to screw with me."

As Arizona looked Callie's way, she and the brunette shared a sad smile.

"MAMI…MAMI…" Sofia excitedly ran towards Callie, Emma following close behind.

"What's up?" Callie chuckled as Sofia bounced excitedly in front of her.

"I seen flowers just like…"

"You saw baby."

"Oh…I saw flowers just like the ones you said are mommy's favorite. Come see…come see…" She grabbed Callie's hand and tried to pull her up.

"Okay, hold on. I'm coming." Callie stated as she got up and started to walk with Emma and Sofia to go see the flowers.

Arizona got up and followed behind, but in her mind she was going over what Sofia had just said to Callie…_'are mommy's favorite?' _

Why didn't Sofia just say…_are your favorite? Was Callie in a relationship with someone? _

Arizona couldn't help the feeling of jealousy that coursed through her entire body as she thought of Callie being with someone else.

"Are these it mami?" Sofia pointed to the flowers.

"Yes, these are it…they're white daffodils." Callie whispered.

Arizona watched as the brunette gently passed her fingertips over the petals.

"They're beautiful." Sofia stated in an awestruck tone as she smiled up at her mother.

Callie returned the smile, "Yeah…they really are."

"Can you put one in my hair?" The little girl asked. There was a picture of her mommy with one in her hair and she wanted to look the same.

Callie nodded as she proceeded to bend down slightly and picked four flowers.

"One for you…" She placed one in Sofia's hair.

"And one for you..." She repeated the same action with Emma.

"And one for muah…" She kissed it and then put it in her own hair, as Emma and Sofia giggled at her silliness.

"And one…" She turned to face Arizona.

"For you." She whispered as she gently kissed the flower and then placed it in the blonde's hair, giving her a tender smile afterwards.

As Callie placed the flower in her hair and lovingly stared into her eyes, Arizona couldn't help but blush and give off a shy smile.

"Thank you." The blonde stated, Callie nodded.

"Can we get ice-cream?" Sofia asked as she pulled on her mother's hand to try to get her attention.

"Yeah…of cou…"

Callie started to say yes, but Emma started freaking out.

"Noooo…noooo iccccce-creeeeeam. Pleeeeease nooooo ice-creeeeeam…I dooooon't waaaaant iiiitttt…tttttell heeeer…ppplllleeeassseeee…teeellll hhheeeerrr…" The little girl cried as she desperately reached for her aunt.

"Emma…Emma…please calm down…it's okay honey...it's okay." Arizona picked up her niece and tried to get her to calm down.

She was bouncing the little girl on her hip and wiping away at her niece's tears, her own tears threatening to spill. She felt so guilty…her niece shouldn't have to go through this.

"I'm sorry Emma…please." Arizona cried as tears continued to roll down Emma's cheeks, the little girl sobbingly begging and pleading with her aunt.

Sofia moved closer to Callie and hugged her by the leg, the brunette lovingly wrapped her arm around her daughter. Poor Sofia had witnessed two incidents tonight that Callie would have to try to explain to her daughter later on.

"Emma…hey, it's okay." Callie soothed in her ear as she gently rubbed soft circles on her back.

Although Arizona was still carrying her, Callie was close enough...so was trying to help calm her down.

"We can get something else…whatever you want…we can get whatever you want." Callie continued to comfort her.

After a while, Emma's crying started to subside and now all you could hear was the occasional sniffle.

"Anything I want?" She asked in a quiet voice.

"Anything." Callie assured.

"Can we go to your house?"

At Emma's request, Arizona eyes wanted to bug out of her head.

Callie chuckled, "You want to eat my house for dessert?" She teased.

That earned giggles from both Emma and Arizona.

"No silly." Emma stated.

"Oh, okay…you're right…I'm so silly." Callie made a face and playfully slapped her own forehead.

"Did you just want to visit?"

Emma nodded her head up and down.

"Okay…then let's go to my house." The brunette stated.

"Oooo…I just thought of a fun idea." Callie excitedly followed up.

"What?" Arizona smirked, Callie could be so cute.

"Come on…you'll see." Callie winked at the blonde.

They hurriedly packed up all their picnic items and picked up their trash and then got ready to leave.

As they got to Callie's house, they all shuffled out of the car.

Arizona took in her surroundings. It was a nice house, it was a lot bigger than any of the childhood homes she had ever lived in, but it was still homey looking. The neighborhood seemed quiet and peaceful, but she figured it was because of the time of night that it was. She was sure that during the day you could hear the neighborhood kids running around and playing.

As they stepped inside, Callie spoke up.

"Would you like a tour?" She nervously asked.

Arizona could sense Callie's nerves, and she was also upset with Emma for putting Callie on the spot. She had told her niece not to keep bothering the brunette.

"Maybe a little later." Arizona replied.

"Okay." Callie nodded and then ushered everyone towards the kitchen.

"Let me see what I have for dessert." Callie started to search her cabinets for stuff to make fresh doughnuts.

The two blondes liked their doughnuts...so Callie figured she couldn't go wrong.

But as she kept searching, she was coming up empty…except for the ice-cream in her freezer. Of course she would only have ice-cream.

"Ummm…I haven't been able to go grocery shopping this week." She sighed.

"I…uh…I only have ice-cream."

At her statement, she could already see the tears forming in Emma's eyes.

"Come here for a minute." She tenderly stated as she picked up Emma and sat her on top of the kitchen island.

"You know, my father once told me that sometimes in the hands of the wrong person…something you love very, very much…can become something you start to hate…but…in the right hands…you can learn to love it again."

Emma listened closely as Callie continued to talk.

"Maybe…maybe you use to really love ice-cream, but something happened and now you don't…but what if I promise to make you the best milkshake you've ever tasted…do you think that maybe you would be okay with that?"

Emma nodded as Callie tucked some hair behind her ear.

"Okay, let's make some milkshakes then. You and Sofia will be my handy helpers."

"YAY!" Both Emma and Sofia clapped their hands excitedly when they found out they would be helping, Arizona and Callie laughing at their enthusiasm.

Callie made a shake for Emma and one for Sofia, both girls 'helping'...they drank them and then decided they wanted to go upstairs and play in Sofia's room.

"Hey, I have a horse just like this…only mine is bigger...he delivered my aunt's new heart." Emma stated a she pointed to the stuffed toy horse on Sofia's bed.

"My mommy won me it."

"Maybe Callie could win me one too…because I had to leave mine at home." Emma sadly stated.

"She didn't win it...my other mommy did." Sofia stated as she snatched her toy back from Emma. She didn't mind sharing, but not this toy...it was very special to her.

"Where is your other mommy?" Emma asked as she grabbed a different toy.

"She's in heaven."

Emma looked over at Sofia.

"My mommy and daddy are in heaven too." She sadly whispered.

"Is that why you stay with your aunt?"

Emma nodded.

"And when she fixes everything...she said I would be able to go back and get my horse...but this time Renee won't be there." Emma informed Sofia.

"My mami has a horse too…I could let you play with it…but just for tonight."

"Really?" Emma excitedly asked.

Sofia nodded as she grabbed Emma's hand and they went to Callie's room.

"Callie, thanks for tonight…Emma had a lot of fun." Arizona smiled at Callie.

Callie returned the smile, "You're welcome."

"What uh…what about you?" She nervously asked.

Arizona smirked at the brunette, "I have to get back to you." She teased.

"You have to get back to me?" Callie chuckled.

"Yup. Because I didn't get to try…according to you…the best milkshake ever…I gotta tell ya…if you keep this up we will never make it to our two-week a-versary." The blonde teased.

At the blonde's statement, Callie smiled.

The brunette reached out and gently grabbed the blonde by the hand to pull her closer.

"That is because I wanted to make you a special one…my famous chocolate oreo flavored milkshake." She husked over the blonde's moist pink lips.

"Okay." Arizona squeaked as Callie's hot breath sent chills up and down her spine.

Callie triumphantly grinned at the blonde's nerve's. She separated herself from the blonde and started to mix the ingredients.

Arizona leaned against the counter right next to Callie, she was more than content staring at the brunette and watching her work.

"Oh Calliope?" Lucia questioned in surprise as she entered into the kitchen, she hadn't expected Callie to be home yet.

Arizona smiled as she heard what Callie was short for. She wondered why the brunette didn't use her full name…it was absolutely beautiful. She felt the need to say it out loud all of a sudden, she wanted to hear how it rolled off her tongue…but decided against it because she didn't want to look weird.

"Mama?" Callie asked in surprise.

"I'm sorry mija…I didn't know you were in here. I was going to grab some water and then head home.

"No…it's late…just stay the night." Callie pleadingly looked towards her mother.

Lucia gave her a knowing smile, Callie hated for Aria or her to go home driving so late at night.

"Okay…I'll stay. Let me just grab the water. I'll be quick." Lucia apologetically smiled towards her daughter and then the pretty blonde.

Lucia grabbed what she had come for and then walked over to Callie and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Have a goodnight mija."

"And you too." Lucia leaned over and gave Arizona a kiss on the cheek as well.

"Oh…thank you." Arizona stated with a hint of surprise, she hadn't expected that.

"Don't let her make you the chocolate oreo flavored one…that's how she gets all the pretty girls to like her." Lucia teasingly whispered as she winked at the blonde.

"MAMA!" Callie complained.

Although her mother had whispered, Callie had still been able to hear her clearly.

Arizona chuckled at the look of panic on Callie's face.

"I was joking…she knows I was joking." Lucia laughed. "Right?" She asked Arizona, the blonde nodding in agreement.

"See?" Lucia smiled towards Callie.

Callie rolled her eyes, "Goodnight mama."

"Goodnight." The older brunette gave Callie one more kiss and then left the kitchen.

"I've never made this for any other woman…I swear…just my family…I haven't even really brought any dates home since…" Callie trailed off as she swallowed thickly.

Arizona knew that there was something Callie was holding back. She still couldn't let go of what Sofia had said in the park earlier, but she hadn't been the most open with Callie either so she decided to let the brunette be for now.

"How come you never told me your full name?" Arizona abruptly changed the subject, and Callie had never been more grateful.

Callie raised an eyebrow, "Really...Miss Glass House?"

Arizona smiled, "Touché." The blonde stated, she knew she wasn't one to talk…she had yet to tell Callie her name was Arizona.

"It's very pretty." Arizona whispered.

Callie scoffed and didn't look up from mixing her ingredients.

"It is."

"Not everybody agrees…which is why not everybody calls me Calliope. Just my family."

At Callie's statement, Arizona reached over and stilled her hands.

Callie stopped mixing her ingredients and looked over at the blonde.

"Don't get me wrong…I love my name…but when I started school…" She sadly smiled.

"What happened?" Arizona asked with genuine concern.

Callie sighed.

Arizona was still leaning against the counter and Callie came to stand in front of her.

"When I was a little girl, around Sofia and Emma's age…I went to the mall with my father and fell in love with the most beautiful princess costume. My father bought it for me and we brought it home…after that I would wear it everyday…"

Arizona chuckled as she imagined a young Callie running around in a princess dress every single day.

"Anyway…" The brunette playfully rolled her eyes.

"My mom eventually bought me a toy princess crown…it was silver and had little white pretend diamonds, and it came with a matching wand…as an adult I really don't know what the wand was good for, I don't ever see any princesses with wands…but as a kid...it gave me all this power."

Arizona smiled as the brunette continued her story.

"My dad would come home from work every afternoon, and every day I would be in the costume…and no matter how tired he was…he would always have time to play. He would call me Princesa Calliope…and I remember just loving the way my name would sound when he said it...it was full of love…but then I started school and the kids…they would laugh at it...or snicker behind my back…or to my face…"

Arizona watched as Callie's eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"One time when I was in middle school, I remember these girls would make fun of me every chance they got, one day something just snapped…and I couldn't take it anymore...so I hid in the school's bathroom for the rest of the afternoon. When I got home I was crying and I told my family that I never wanted to hear them...or anybody else call me Calliope ever again."

"I ran upstairs and locked myself in my room. My dad came upstairs to check on me…he knocked on my door and when I opened it…he had my old crown and wand in his hand…and he said, 'My I have this dance Princesa Calliope?'."

Arizona watched as Callie swallowed thickly and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Of course, being the sulky, miserable, ornery teenager that most of us tend to be at that age…" Callie and Arizona both shared a small smile.

"I said, 'there isn't even any music'…and he said, 'we don't need music…because the music is here…and we will dance to the rhythm of our hearts Princesa'."

As Callie finished her story, she slowly raised her hand and gently placed it over Arizona's heart.

At the contact, the blonde's breath hitched as Callie stared deep into her eyes.

Arizona felt a jolt of electricity run through her body…and for the first time in a long time…she felt alive. It was as if her heart had just beat for the first time forever.

"What I told Emma earlier…about sometimes…if in the wrong hands…the things we love the most can become things we hate, or fear."

"Like a smile, or a touch…" Callie slowly moved her hand up and tenderly cupped Arizona's cheek, her thumb caressing it softly.

"Or even the way someone says our name…"

"But…in the right hands…"

Callie slowly trailed her hand down the length of Arizona's arm; their hands met and instinctively held on to one another.

The brunette pulled the blonde forward by the waist as their bodies gently collided, their mouths now only a few inches apart.

"When somebody loves you…even the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth." She huskily whispered over Arizona's lips.

Arizona swallowed thickly, and her heart was beating a mile a minute.

"May I have this dance?"

Arizona slowly nodded as she closed the distance and rested her head on Callie's shoulder.

Callie started to hum a soft song in Arizona's ear as she continued to dance with her.

"I know that you're not ready to give me your name…or tell me your backstory…but I want you to know that I really like you…and when you're ready…I will be here every step of the way to help you get your life back on track." She lovingly whispered.

As Callie spoke, Arizona clutched tighter to the brunette and silent tears tracked down her cheeks. She hadn't felt this loved or special in so long, and she never wanted to let go.

They danced quietly a while longer until it was time to take Arizona and Emma back to the hotel. Callie went upstairs and noticed that Emma and Sofia had fallen asleep in Sofia's bed. She gently wrapped the blanket that Emma was using tighter around the little girl and picked her up. She made sure that her own daughter was covered and then gave her a kiss goodnight before heading back downstairs.

The drive back to the hotel was quiet, but full of stolen glances and hand holding.

"Let me just put her down." Arizona stated as she took Emma inside her hotel room and laid her down on the bed.

As soon as Emma was situated, Arizona came back out into the hall to say goodbye to Callie.

"I had a really nice time tonight Calliope."

Callie smiled when she heard the blonde call her by her full name, she liked the way it sounded coming from her.

"Me too." Callie stated as she reached out and took the blonde's hands in her own.

The brunette brought them both up to meet her lips and placed soft kisses on each of them.

"Goodnight." Callie softly whispered as she started to walk away. She walked backwards towards the elevators, never breaking eye contact with the blonde.

It was only when she reached the end of the hall that she waved one last time and then turned around.

"Arizona."

At the sound of the blonde's voice calling out from behind her, Callie turned around again.

"What?" She asked with a hint of confusion.

_Was that where the blonde was originally from or something?_

At the look of puzzlement on Callie's face, Arizona giggled, "My name…it's Arizona."

Arizona watched as a huge smile formed on Callie's lips and she walked back towards her.

"What made you finally tell me?" She whispered once she was in front of the blonde again.

"I knew that it would be safe with you."

Both women shared a knowing smile.

"Arizona…I like it." Callie nodded. "I bet there's a pretty cool story behind that name."

"There is…I'm named after a battleship…not the state. But the story…"

"That's a story for another day." Arizona knowingly smirked at Callie as she had used their code to let her know she planned on sticking around.

"Well, Miss Arizona named after a battleship…not the state." The brunette smiled as she leaned in a placed a soft kiss on Arizona's cheek.

"I can't wait to hear it." She softly whispered and then walked away smiling at the blonde.

Once Callie had entered the elevator and was out of sight, Arizona leaned back against the hotel room's door as a smile appeared on her face.

She slowly brought her hand up to rest on the same spot where Callie had kissed her cheek.

"I can't wait either."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Grey's Anatomy character(s) and/or settings portrayed in this story, or any other outside material that is mentioned. This story is for entertainment purposes only.**

**A/N: Thanks for all the wonderful feedback. Your reviews, favorites and follows really are awesome. Thanks so much! XOXO**

**Also, I usually try to do two updates a week, sorry that this week was only one...but life has been bananas ;)**

_**Italics equals flashbacks, dreams, or thoughts.**_

Although her eyes were closed, Callie couldn't help the smile that graced her face when she felt a dip at the end of her bed. She knew it was Sofia coming to wake her up.

"GOOD MORNING!" The little girl excitedly yelled and giggled as she flopped on top of her mami's stomach.

"Oooof." Callie echoed as her daughter knocked the wind out of her.

"Good morning." Callie finally was able to reply back with a smile as her brown eyes met a similar pair.

"What are we going to do today?" Sofia asked, it was Saturday and it was her special day to hang out with mami.

"Well, I was thinking we could have breakfast and then head towards the beach."

"Are we going swimming?" Sofia excitedly asked.

"No, not swimming baby."

Sofia pouted at Callie's answer.

"It's still too cold Sof…but I was thinking we could ride our bikes?"

"I guess." Sofia begrudgingly agreed as she rolled off of her mother and onto the bed.

"Come here negative Nancy…" Callie teasingly stated as she pulled Sofia in for a hug.

"Hey!" Sofia complained. "I'm not negative mami."

"I know…I was teasing." Callie winked.

"Now give me my kisses." She playfully demanded.

Sofia and Callie shared a smile as the little girl started to pepper her mother's face with kisses.

Emma started to stir; she wildly looked around when she opened her eyes. Once she realized where she was, she instantly relaxed…they were still in the hotel.

She freed herself from the heavy blanket she was wrapped in; she realized it was the one from Sofia's room.

"Good morning sleepyhead." Arizona happily greeted her niece as she walked into the living room.

"Morning." Was the sleepy reply as she plopped down on the couch next to her aunt and scooted closer for a cuddle.

Arizona giggled, "Rough night?"

Emma nodded as Arizona hugged her tighter. A comfortable silence fell upon them as Arizona ran her fingers through Emma's hair.

"Hey Emma, can we talk?" Arizona's voice taking on a bit more serious tone to it.

Emma worriedly looked up at Arizona. She didn't want to go back to see Renee…and the last time they left, her aunt got like this…and they had gone back to Renee, and she was not happy when they had gotten home.

As unshed tears pooled in her niece's eyes, Arizona picked her up and sat her on her lap.

"Why are you crying?" She softly whispered.

"Because I don't want to go back…please aunty Zona…please don't make us go back…" Emma started to full on cry.

Arizona hugged her niece closer to her chest, "We aren't…I promise…we aren't going back." She reassured as she placed kisses on top of Emma's head.

Emma pulled back from the hug, "We're not?"

"No…I promise. I just wanted to talk about our plans for the future…we can't stay in the hotel forever." Arizona smiled at Emma as she tucked some hair behind her ear.

"Why not?"

Arizona chuckled.

"Because…I need to start working again, and…I need my medicines…and you need clothes, and eventually you have to start school…and I really miss grandma and grandpa…and Teddy." Arizona sadly stated the last part.

"I miss them too."

"So what are we going to do? Don't you need Renee to help?" Emma worriedly asked, Renee would do everything for her aunt, but it would make her aunt sad.

"No…I definitely don't need her. She's the one that took all those things away…and I let her." Arizona sadly smiled at her niece.

"But now you're not?" Emma asked with hopeful eyes.

"That's right...now I'm not." Arizona smiled brightly as she tickled Emma's sides, the little girl squealing in laughter.

Once the tickle attack had died down, they once again continued to sit in a comfortable quiet embrace.

Arizona had been up since the early hours of the morning. She had thought long and hard about the steps she needed to take in order to get her life back on track. Ever since her dance with Callie, she had felt a sense of tranquility and hopefulness wash over her…something she hadn't felt in a very long time. Her spirit had been renewed and she was ready to take back the reins of her life.

If she was being honest, Callie made her feel things she hadn't felt for any other woman…ever. The brunette had assured her that she would be there every step of the way to help and Arizona was thankful, but she wanted to try to get things done on her own. She wanted Callie to stick around for sure…but not out of some sense of obligation or duty to some 'poor abused woman and her niece.' She wanted to be able to give back to Callie as much as she had received from the brunette.

She decided that today she would speak with Callie and tell her the truth about who she was, and the steps that she would be taking to get back to who she used to be…who she wanted to be. She figured that telling Callie the truth was as good a place as any to start.

"Come on." Arizona stated as she motioned for Emma to stand up.

"Where are we going?"

"To have breakfast and then I have to go to the pharmacy."

"Aren't we eating with Callie?" Emma asked.

Arizona smiled at her niece, the fact that Emma was asking about Callie eating with them just showed how much of an impact the brunette had already had on their lives. Calliope was definitely going to have to stick around.

"Saturday is her day to spend with Sofia…she doesn't work."

"She came last Saturday." Emma pointed out.

Arizona smirked as she remembered their first encounter, "I know. Let's just eat and maybe I'll call her later to hang out…okay?"

"Okay."

Arizona ordered room service, then she and Emma went to the bathroom and washed up for the day. After breakfast they headed downstairs.

As they stepped out of the elevator, Arizona spotted Andrea.

"Hi!" The blonde happily greeted as she stepped up to the front desk.

Andrea looked up from her computer screen to find Callie's mystery crush standing directly across from her.

"Hi. How are you?" Andrea asked with a genuine smile.

"I'm well. I was wondering…is…is there a way I could get a laptop delivered to my room? Like to borrow it temporarily…I need to look up…"

Andrea smiled, "Of course…there's an open account for your room…I will have one sent up right away."

Arizona nodded, "Thanks. Uh…do you know if I will be able to get on the internet?"

"Yeah…just click on the Wifi for the Torres Hotel…put in your room number…once it sees you have the open account it will bypass all the credit card information and charge it to your room."

"Thanks. I should be back soon…can I have it delivered then?"

Andrea smiled and nodded her head, Arizona gave her one last smile as she and Emma headed out.

Andrea continued to smile at the retreating blondes, as soon as they had stepped out of the hotel she picked up the phone.

Callie, Sofia and Lucia were all sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast.

_Ring, Ring, Ring…_

"Hello?" Callie answered her cell phone.

"Callie, it's Andrea." Andrea whispered into the phone.

"What's going on? And why are you whispering?"

"I…" Andrea furrowed her eyebrows momentarily, _why was she whispering?_

"Um…I don't know."

Callie chuckled at the answer, "Ooookkaaaayyyy." She drawled out.

"I just wanted to let you know your crush went out this morning."

"Andrea, stop spying on her." Callie warned.

"I'm not spying… she came to talk to me…says she wanted to see if we could send a laptop up to her room."

"So…" Callie shrugged as she took a sip of her orange juice.

"So genius…your picture is on the company's homepage."

Callie spit out her juice, Lucia and Sofia looking at her with raised eyebrows.

Andrea smirked into the phone, "Uh-huh…exactly. You still haven't told her who you are…once she sees your pic, she'll put two and two together."

"I'm on my way."

Callie hadn't told Arizona she was the owner and President of the Torres chain of hotels. She hadn't exactly lied either, she had just let the blonde be under the impression that she was the manager…totally not lying.

Arizona had finally trusted her enough to give her her name last night. She didn't want the blonde to be angry at her and never trust her again. She had to tell her who she was before Arizona had a chance to find out on her own.

She knew that Arizona could have easily searched for Ortho Surgeons in Seattle named Callie and then started to place things together, but she had noticed that the blonde would never use her cell phone. Callie had worked alongside her wife for so many years; she knew that Arizona not wanting to use her phone was because she was probably afraid of getting tracked down by the person who had been abusing her. So, until now it hadn't been an issue for Callie and she had been having such a wonderful week with the blonde that she had forgotten about it completely.

"Mija…what's the matter?" Lucia worriedly asked as she saw Callie hurriedly getting up.

"I have to get to the hotel. I'll tell you later." She answered as she was already running out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.

"You stay here." Lucia pointed to Sofia who had started to follow Callie.

As Callie walked into her room, she kicked off her slippers and started to slip on her flats. As the brunette was making her way out of the room, she came to an abrupt stop when she noticed something was missing.

Lucia decided to go upstairs to try to see what was the matter. If something was wrong at the hotel Callie should inform her…maybe she could help.

"Calliope…is something wrong at the hotel…I could go in for y..." She trailed off when she saw Callie frantically tossing everything around in her room.

"Mija?" She worriedly questioned.

"It's not here mama…it's not here." Callie cried as she continued to search her room.

"What's not here?"

Callie halted to look at Lucia, the older woman's heart breaking when she saw the tears tracking down her daughter's cheeks.

"Mel's horse…I can't find it…I need to find it…it was the last thing she got me…I need to find it…I need to find it mama…" She desperately cried.

Callie looked away once again and then kneeled down on the floor to look under her bed. Lucia's eyes darted around the room, as she too decided to step in and help her daughter look for the horse. Callie would be heartbroken if that horse were ever to get lost.

"Hi, can I help you?" The man behind the counter at the pharmacy asked Arizona.

"Yes, I need to get refills on my medications."

"Okay, do you have the bottles…"

"Uh no…but I've used your pharmacy before…well not this specific one…but one near my home."

"Okay, I'll just look up your information and get that taken care of." The man smiled.

Arizona smiled back, she had been scared to get her medications filled before because she thought Renee would be able to track her, but she realized that it would kind of be a stretch for her to find her in some random pharmacy…and they couldn't give out any of her medical information to Renee over the phone, or in person.

Arizona nervously tapped her foot, the more she thought about this…the more she was getting worried, but she really needed her meds. She decided to take extra precautions.

"Uh…it's very important to note that if somebody comes to pick them up they have to show an ID…I don't want anybody getting my personal information. Only I am authorized to pick them up." Arizona worriedly added.

"Of course. I'll note it here. I just need to see your ID."

Once her order was put in, Arizona and Emma walked around the store. The blonde smiled when she spotted a certain item.

"What are you doing?" Emma asked her aunt.

"I'm buying a gift for Callie."

Emma furrowed her eyebrows, "Callie's too big for that."

Arizona chuckled, "I'll make sure to tell her you said that when I give her the gift."

"Don't." Emma warned. She liked Callie; she didn't want her to be mad at her.

Arizona smiled down at Emma.

They made their purchase and she and Emma headed back to the hotel. Her niece was a little upset that Arizona didn't have enough money to buy Callie her gift and get her a candy bar too.

"You can have cake after dinner." Arizona tried to compromise as they walked into the main lobby of the hotel.

"It's not the same." Emma huffed. She liked the hotel food, but she really wanted that candy bar.

At Emma's response, Arizona simply rolled her eyes as she walked to the front desk. Andrea was no longer standing back there.

"May I help you?" A young man asked.

"Yes, I had spoken with Andrea earlier about getting a laptop sent up to my room."

"Alright…let me check on that for you…may I have your room number please?" The young man asked as he punched some information into his computer.

"Presidential Suite Three."

"Ah, the order is on hold. I'll process it right now and it should be up in a minute."

"Thank you." Arizona smiled kindly and then headed towards the elevators with a still huffy Emma.

"Can I at least play games on the computer?" Her niece asked with crossed arms as she leaned back against the elevator wall.

"Yes…as soon as I'm done looking up some things." Arizona's answer finally bringing back Emma's dimpled smile.

"Mija…it's just misplaced." Lucia tried to calm Callie down.

"But where mama…where…" Callie continued to toss out things from her closet.

As Callie continued to meltdown before her very eyes, Lucia decided to take action. She stepped closer to her daughter and grabbed her hands, Callie sadly looking up and meeting her mother's gaze.

"I will keep looking for it…I promise. It has to be here…he's not a real horse you know…he couldn't have gotten up and walked away." She tried to tease and lighten the mood.

"Mama…" Callie's tried to warn, her voice thick with emotion. She was in no mood to joke.

"Mija…I will look for it. You should calm down…get some fresh air." Lucia lovingly suggested.

Callie shook her head from side to side, she wasn't going anywhere.

"Why don't you go visit your friend?" Lucia proposed. Callie had been going every morning since last week; the blonde was probably expecting her.

"I can't." Callie sadly whispered.

"Why?" Lucia asked as she reached up with one hand to dry Callie's tears.

"Because I feel guilty…I…" Callie trailed off as her voice cracked.

Lucia knitted her eyebrows in confusion, "Guilty?"

Callie nodded, "I…all I can think about lately is Arizona…"

"The state?" Lucia asked, now even more confusion evident on her face.

Although she was still upset, Callie couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips, "My friend…her name is Arizona."

"Oh." Lucia blushed with embarrassment.

"And…what's so bad about thinking about her?" Lucia questioned with a tender smile as she brushed back some hair off of Callie's face.

"I…I've been so into Arizona that…" Callie trailed off as she let out a choked sob and closed her eyes.

"I don't know how long the horse has been missing." She guiltily admitted with a whisper.

Lucia reached out and lifted Callie's chin so that her daughter would open her eyes and they could once again look at each other.

"Mija…that's nothing to be ashamed of. Maybe you hadn't noticed because he wasn't missing."

"And as far as the cute blonde goes…I could see how you might get side tracked." Lucia winked.

Callie sniffled but smiled at her mother's comment.

"Okay…I'm all for you being supportive of my sexual orientation…but don't overdo it…it's weird…and slightly creepy." Callie made a face.

Lucia chuckling as she brought Callie in for a hug, the younger brunette instantly feeling better in her mother's arms.

After a while Callie's voice broke the comfortable silence that had overtaken them.

"You promise to keep looking for it?" Callie asked in a soft voice as she and Lucia continued to hug.

"I promise." Lucia lovingly replied as she rubbed soothing circles on her daughter's back.

The laptop had been delivered and Arizona was just logging on to the hotel's homepage. Her attention being distracted by Emma yelling in the other room.

"Emma…what's the matter?" She worriedly asked as she ran into the room.

"I accidently took home Callie's horse." The little girl pointed to the horse that was sitting in the middle of the blanket from Sofia's room.

"Sofia said her mommy that is in heaven gave one to her and one to Callie. I wasn't allowed to take it with me." She worriedly looked at her aunt…she didn't want to get in trouble, it was an accident.

Arizona stared at the horse with wide eyes; she walked towards it like metal being pulled in by a magnet.

She slowly reached out and lifted the horse; she needed to check the label at the bottom of the horse.

"Oh God…" She whispered when she saw the initials MC on the small tag. Emma's horse also had a pair of initials.

Arizona felt short of breath and tears threatened to spill from her eyes, her body starting to shake.

"_Teddy, what's going on?" Daniel Robbins asked as he saw the young cardio surgeon he had known since she was a child frantically calling out orders to a team of other doctors._

_He and Barbara had gone downstairs to get some coffee. _

"_We have a heart." Teddy informed her best friend's parents._

"_What?" Barbara asked as she held a sleeping Emma in her arms._

"_It's on the way now…we…" Before Teddy could finish her sentence, someone from UNOS was making his way towards her._

_Cristina Yang reached for the red cooler, the man from UNOS also trying to hand her a stuffed toy animal._

"_What's that?" Cristina asked as she made a face and refused to grab the toy._

_The man shrugged his shoulders and placed the toy in her hands, then he handed the paperwork to Teddy for her to sign._

_The cardio surgeon quickly signed off on the heart. Her hands slightly shaking, she knew she had to get it together before walking into that OR and performing the most important surgery of her life._

"_Okay. Let's get moving." Teddy called out to Cristina, the raven haired surgeon making her way to toss the toy in a nearby garbage can._

"_NO!" Barbara called out as she grabbed the toy from Cristina._

Arizona doesn't remember much, only what she had heard from her parents and Teddy at the time. At the beginning Arizona had tried to reach out to her donor's family by writing letters, and had even mentioned the strange horse. She thought that maybe it had some important connection or meaning to the person whose heart she had received, but as the years passed and she never received a response she had eventually given it to Emma.

The only thing she knew now was that the horse had become one of Emma's favorite toys and very special to her; her grandmother had told her it was he who had delivered her aunt's new heart. Emma's horse had initials also, but hers read MM.

Arizona made her way out of the room and towards the laptop, her body continued to shake and although she didn't want to confirm the truth that was staring her in the face, she couldn't help herself.

"Aunty Zona?" Emma questioned as she followed her aunt, who was now crying and tightly gripping on to Callie's horse.

Arizona looked at her homescreen, Callie's picture was in the corner…President Calliope Torres.

"Great." She cried as more tears made their way down her cheeks. Callie was the owner of this hotel…she had been lying to her this whole time…making fun of her.

Arizona quickly typed in her room information and clicked on the search bar once the internet access had been granted.

She typed in, _Calliope Torres, Orthopedic Surgeon, Seattle Washington_

The first thing that came back was a bio for Callie. Arizona clicked on it and started to skim through.

_Dr. Callie Torres is an orthopedic surgeon who now runs the famous chain of Torres Hotels. Her cartilage research had to be put on hold due to the tragic death of her wife, Melissa Torres. _

Arizona gasped as she kept on reading and clicking on different search topics. They all pretty much said the same thing, Callie was a surgeon and after her wife's death she had stopped practicing and took an active part in her family's business instead. After her father's death, she had become the president for the famous chain of hotels. The search also showed that Callie's wife had been an ex-victim of domestic violence and that she and Callie had worked closely together at her women's shelter.

Arizona was a mix of anger, hurt and betrayal…was she just some project for Callie, some sick way for Callie to carry out her wife's wishes even after death…save all the poor women and children.

But more than anything Arizona was worried…worried at what would happen when Callie found out the truth.

Arizona decided to bite the bullet and typed in both Callie and Melissa's names. She needed that last piece of confirmation. She clicked on images and there it was…a picture of Callie and her wife…the pretty redhead from her dreams.

Arizona shook her head from side to side; there was no denying it…she had Callie's wife's heart beating in her chest.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Grey's Anatomy character(s) and/or settings portrayed in this story, as well as any other outside material that is mentioned. This story is for entertainment purposes only.**

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and followers. Your response to this story has been astounding and I really appreciate it.**

_**Italics are flashbacks, dreams, or thoughts.**_

Andrea came back from the media room where she had been assisting a guest. She instantly became worried when she saw Terrence behind the counter instead of Chris, whom she had left in charge.

"Where's Chris?" She worriedly questioned.

"He had to go up to room 802; apparently the guests didn't know how to rent movies from the TV's home menu." Terrence replied as he organized the front desk.

"Did he tell you about the laptop?" She asked. Andrea had told Chris to keep the order for the Presidential Suite on hold until Callie had gotten there.

"Uh…no. But I already processed the order." He absentmindedly answered as he continued to organize everything.

"Oh my God…Callie is going to kill me." Andrea stated in a whisper.

"Wait…what? Why?" Terrence finally looked Andrea's way with a panic-stricken face. He didn't want to get in trouble with his boss.

"We weren't supposed to let her…" Andrea trailed off when she spotted Callie walking towards the elevators.

"Shit!" Andrea worriedly stated.

After her mother had promised her that she would continue to look for her horse, Callie quickly left her house to try to get to the hotel before Arizona could find out the truth about her. She wasn't too worried as she had texted Andrea and told her to hold off on sending the laptop up to Arizona's room.

Emma watched as her aunt hastily got up and started throwing her medicine bottles in the same small bag she had brought with her when they had left Renee.

"Aunty Zona? What are you doing?"

Arizona halted her movements temporarily to look over at Emma. Her niece worriedly stared at her, Arizona's cheeks were completely stained with tears and the brim of her eyes and nose were as red as a tomato.

"We have to go Emma." Arizona's voice cracked.

"You promised!" Emma angrily stated as she balled up her little fists close to her sides, her little chest rising and falling with each angry breath she took.

"I'm not breaking my promise."

"YES YOU ARE!" The little girl screamed.

"Stop yelling at me." Arizona cried. Her mind was a whirlwind of emotions; she didn't need Emma adding to her stress right now.

Before any of the two blondes could say anything else they heard a knock at the door, both of them turning their heads at the sound.

Emma slowly turned back to face her aunt, the older blonde carefully studying her niece's body language, the little girl was menacingly squinting her eyes and staring Arizona down. Emma was as stubborn as Arizona, the only difference was that her niece hadn't been as free to express that stubbornness in Renee's presence, but ever since they had been at the hotel Emma's personality was shining through more and more with each passing day.

"I'm telling Callie on you." Emma angrily threatened as she made a break for the front door.

Arizona quickly ran after her niece and scooped her up by her midsection.

"Put me down! Put me down!" Emma argued as her arms and legs flailed wildly in the air.

Arizona tried to get Emma to calm down; she struggled for a few minutes, but eventually she was able to turn her niece's body around so that they could face each other, this action effectively stopping Emma's arms and legs from flailing around anymore.

"Emma…shhh…shhh…shhh…it's okay. Please?" Arizona quietly spoke as she held onto Emma.

Emma was heavily breathing, her tears flowing like rivers from her little eyes.

"I'm sorry. We won't go back to Renee…I would never break my promise. Please?" Arizona cried.

"I don't want to leave Caaaallliiieeeeee…" Emma sobbed into her aunt's chest.

"I don't either." Arizona's voice cracked as she hugged Emma tightly.

"Theeennn…wwwhhhyyy…aaarrreeee…yyyyooouuuuu…ppppaaccckkkiinngg…ooouuurrr…sssttttuuufff?"

Arizona let out a whimpered cry as she continued to try to soothe Emma because she didn't have an answer. How do you tell your five year old niece that she had Callie's dead wife's heart in her chest…and that once the brunette found out she would want nothing to do with them.

At the sound of several more loud knocks, Arizona pulled back from her and Emma's hug. The little girl was still crying and sniffling, Arizona reached up with her free hand to dry her tears.

"Em…I have to talk with Callie and figure things out, but I promise…no matter what happens…we will _never _go back to Renee." Arizona looked directly into Emma's eyes as she spoke, she slowly brought up her pinky finger.

Emma continued to sniffle and cautiously stared at her aunt's pinky finger. Arizona wanted to seal their deal with a pinky promise…that meant she wasn't lying.

"No matter what…it's always been you and me together…right?" The older blonde asked her niece.

Emma nodded as she stuck out her pinky and wrapped it around her aunt's. Both blondes puckered their lips and kissed the tops of their pinky fingers, this is how they would officially seal their promises.

Arizona gave Emma a small smile, "I love you."

"I love you too."

The incessant knocking continued, but this time it was followed by Callie's worried voice.

"Guys…are you alright? It's Callie. I…" The brunette sighed.

Andrea had texted her while she was riding up the elevator, apparently she had gotten busy with work and the laptop order had been placed for the computer to be delivered to Arizona, which meant that the blonde probably already saw that she was the owner of this hotel and may be a bit upset with her.

"If I did something to upset you…I'm sorry. Please…just open the door so we can talk." Callie continued to plead through the closed door.

Arizona closed her eyes as she heard Callie's muffled apology through the door. She liked Callie, but she was still hurt about the brunette lying…but then again she hadn't been the most forthcoming either.

Actually, if Arizona was being honest with herself, the thing that was currently tormenting her mind and soul was the fact that she still had to tell Callie who she was. She had to tell Callie that she had Melissa's heart beating in her chest.

"Stay in here okay." Arizona stated as she put Emma down.

The little girl nodded her head and sat on the bed, her aunt made her way out of the master bedroom and towards the front door.

Arizona looked around the living room and then towards the front door, Callie's knocks and soft pleas still coming through.

The blonde swallowed thickly as she looked back to find a worried Emma peeping through a crack in the bedroom door. Arizona decisively walked to the couch and hid the horse beneath it; she then took in a deep breath and walked towards the hotel's door to open it and face Callie.

"I'm sor…" Callie trailed off as the door finally opened, the brunette instantly become concerned as she noticed that Arizona had been crying.

"Arizona…are you okay? Is somebody here?" Callie protectively stated as she walked passed Arizona and into her hotel room.

"Nobody's here." Arizona answered, her voice cracking slightly.

Callie turned around and walked back towards the blonde, "You've been crying." She whispered as she brought her hands up to dry the blonde's tears.

Arizona recoiled from Callie's touch, the brunette's hands pausing in midair.

"Arizona?"

Arizona angrily wiped at her own tears and then protectively crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Callie slowly looked the blonde up and down and then she trailed her eyes around the room. There it was…the laptop was wide open…to a picture of her and Mel. So now Arizona knew she was a widow, and the owner of the hotel.

"You know." Callie stated in a whisper as she looked back towards the blonde.

"How long were you planning on waiting to tell me that you owned this hotel and a bunch more Calliope?"

"III...I um...was waiting…"

Arizona cut off Callie's answer.

"Did you think it was funny? Lie to the poor domestic abuse victim?" The blonde kept going, "Or maybe…maybe I was a project for you?" Arizona's tone holding a bit more anger than she had intended.

"That's not what this was…and you know it." Callie defended as she incredulously shook her head from side to side at Arizona's statement.

She and the blonde had shared so many special moments this week…Arizona must have known she was being genuine in her actions and feelings.

"You're going to tell me what I know? Isn't that a big no no…I'm an abuse victim Callie…you have to try to teach me not to be controlled anymore…you learned that from your wife didn't you?"

"What?" Callie's beautiful brown eyes sadly looked into Arizona's.

"Yeah…I mean...you can't have the real thing anymore…so what? You go around finding poor abuse victims and then…"

"Stop it!" Callie warned as unshed tears quickly gathered in her eyes. "Before you say something you'll regret."

"I'm not your wife Callie…and I'm not some project for you to work on so that she can live on…" Arizona trailed off as she saw the look of pain that crossed Callie's features.

The brunette stood there wide mouth as if she was trying to catch her breath, her chest heaved heavily and her tears slowly tracked down her cheeks.

"Oh God…" Arizona shamefully stated as she brought her hands up to cover her mouth, effectively muffling a sob.

Arizona didn't know where that comment had come from, she just felt insecure in Callie's presence all of a sudden, and a little jealous of her wife. If Callie knew she had Melissa's heart she would never be able to love her for her.

"Calliope…I'm sorry. Please…I'm sorry." Arizona begged as she tried to reach out and grab Callie's hands.

The brunette taking a step back and moving her arms out of the blonde's reach, "Don't!" Callie warningly whispered.

Arizona's heart broke at the rejection.

Callie walked passed Arizona and to the door, avoiding eye contact the whole time.

"Calliope…I don't know why I said that…I'm sorry…please." Arizona beggingly cried.

At Arizona's whimpered cry Callie paused at the door, her hand was already on the doorknob and her back was turned to Arizona.

Callie awkwardly cleared her throat, but Arizona could still hear the raspiness in her voice, evidence that the brunette had been crying, "You and Emma can stay as long as you need."

And with that the brunette was gone.

Arizona stood helplessly in the middle of the living room staring at the closed door, tears trailing down her cheeks nonstop. She was mentally trying to will for the door to open back up and reveal Callie, but the minutes just kept on ticking by and Arizona knew she had lost one of the best things to have happened to her in a very long time.

As soon as the door from Arizona's room shut behind Callie, she ran down the hall, her legs automatically carrying her to a place she hadn't been to in a long, long time. She made the short climb up the stairwell and towards the roof of the hotel. She pushed open the heavy metal door, the cool wind hitting her face…reality as well as she felt the cool wind dry up her tear stained cheeks.

She ran towards the corner of the rooftop and stopped when she reached the door to the greenhouse. The brunette fumbled around inside her purse looking for the key to open the door, it never use to be locked when Mel was alive, but after her death Callie had gotten angry and destroyed the inside of the greenhouse…she had then put a lock on the door and didn't allow anybody to come up here anymore.

The brunette found the key and quickly let herself inside, she closed the door behind her and stepped in further.

Callie slowly ran her hand along the surface of the wooden work station that sat in the middle, it was dusty and grimy. She looked around, everything looked so dark and gray…such a contrast to the happy, bright shininess that use to overtake this place.

Dark and gray wasn't so bad…it was kind of how she felt at the moment.

She made her way to a stool in the corner and sat down; she closed her eyes and tried to remember what this place looked like before she had taken her anger out on all of the plants, flowers and furnishings.

After a few minutes the brunette deeply sighed and opened her eyes, reality hitting her in the face as she looked around at the desolate place. She couldn't remember what it used to look like, because it use to represent everything that Mel used to be…life and light, but Mel was gone now…and now this place showed cold stark gloom, darkness, and loneliness.

"I lost your horse." Callie spoke into the emptiness, her voice cracking as she angrily wiped away her tears.

"_What are you doing?" Callie amusingly asked as she stepped out of the bathroom and saw her wife placing the horses she had just won at the fair in their bed._

"_I'm tucking them in." Melissa teased as she slipped under the covers and playfully hugged all three closer to her._

_Callie raised an eyebrow, "We aren't sleeping with those things." The brunette stated as she too slipped under the covers._

"_Why not?" Melissa playfully pouted._

"_Mel…no…I know you…you won them and now as some sort of weird rub it in Callie's face thing…we have to…" The brunette trailed off with a sigh as her wife gave her puppy dog eyes._

"_Why don't you like me Callie?" The redhead asked in a mock voice as if she was one of the horses. She pouted and continued with the puppy dog eyes as she brought the horse up to nuzzle Callie's nose._

_Callie chuckled, "How long do I have to put up with this?"_

"_Until you say…Melissa is the queen and I will bow to her every day."_

_Callie playfully slapped the horse away from her face as she looked over at her wife with a raised eyebrow, "I'm carrying your child…let's call it even."_

"_Fair enough." The redhead shrugged her shoulders and then leaned in to peck her wife's lips, her beautiful smile never once leaving her face._

Callie smiled at the memory, "I um…I've been talking to someone…she's…I really like her, well…except for I screwed up and didn't tell her who I was."

"She found out through the good ol' internet." Callie scoffed.

"She's mad at me now." Callie sadly whispered.

"And I'm a little hurt because she…she brought you up in our conversation." Callie closed her eyes, a few more tears falling down her cheeks.

"So how screwed up is it that I still want to get to know her?" Callie sadly cried.

"I'm sorry Mel." She guiltily sobbed into her hands.

Callie really liked Arizona; she hadn't felt the feelings such as the ones she was feeling for the blonde...for any other woman since her wife, and for some reason today she had been struggling with those feelings…she was afraid to betray Melissa.

Callie continued to cry, but at the sound of a loud crash she lifted her head. The brunette knitted her eyebrows and slowly walked over to the source of the noise. Callie bent down to pick up a sign that must have fallen off of its hook. The brunette turned it over and blew some of the dust off of it.

Callie smiled as she ran her fingers over the sign and read the words out loud, "All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today."

"It's never too late to start planting new flowers." Callie knowingly whispered to herself.

"Aunty Zona?" Emma cautiously approached her aunt that hadn't moved since Callie had left crying.

At the sound of Emma's voice, Arizona broke her gaze away from the hotel door.

The blonde swallowed thickly, "Yeah?" Her voice was hoarse.

"You didn't give Callie back her horse…maybe that's why she's so sad."

Arizona nodded as tears continued to flow from her eyes.

"Maybe we could take it to her…with your gift."

"I don't think Callie wants to see me right now." Arizona sadly stated.

"Why?"

"I think she's mad at me…because I said some hurtful things."

"That's okay…Sofia says she is bad all the time and Callie doesn't get mad."

Although she was still crying a chuckle left Arizona's lips.

"And I broke the bathtub and she didn't get mad…remember?"

"Yeah." Arizona's voice cracked as she picked up her niece and hugged her tightly.

Lucia was in the backyard with Sofia when she heard Callie's car pull up.

"I'll be right back bebita." She informed Sofia as she went inside to catch her daughter. She hadn't been able to locate the horse.

Sofia nodded and kept playing tea party by herself as her abuela went inside the house.

"Hi." Callie tried to smile as she greeted her mother.

The older brunette worriedly looked at Callie as she could tell that her daughter had been crying, "Mija…did something happen with your friend?"

Lucia knew Callie had been upset about the horse, but she had sent her off to visit the cute blonde in better spirits.

"Did you find it?" Callie asked about the horse and effectively changed the subject. She did not want to get into details with her mother about her argument with Arizona.

Lucia shook her head from side to side, Callie nodded.

"I um…" Callie swallowed thickly.

"I know I usually go out with Sof but…I'm having a pretty hard day and…" Callie's voice trailed off into a whimpered cry.

"I know mija…she's fine…we're having a tea party out back." Lucia tenderly smiled at Callie. "Why don't you go up and rest and if you're up for it later…you can join us."

"Thank you mama." Callie's voice continued to crack as she returned her mother's smile and then headed upstairs.

"My legs hurt." Emma complained as she tried to keep up with her aunt.

"I know…I'm sorry." Arizona stated as she picked up her niece and started to carry her as they kept walking.

They had left the hotel about an hour ago, she remembered Callie didn't live that far from the hotel, but once she had gotten into the brunette's neighborhood all the houses and blocks started looking the same. She couldn't really recall the exact location of the brunette's house and she was having a difficult time locating it.

They continued for another twenty minutes until Arizona spotted Callie's car.

"I'm hungry." Emma announced.

"I know…but we're here. Let's just give Callie her horse and then head back so you can eat." Arizona suggested as she put Emma down.

The older blonde was exhausted. She was tired, hungry, and out of breath…not only for walking for so long, but also because of carrying her niece for the last twenty minutes or so. She could only imagine what poor Emma felt like.

"Hey Emma…come here for a minute." Arizona called out to her niece who was already making her way up the walk.

"Yeah?" The little girl questioned as she made her way back to stand in front of her aunt.

"Listen…I just wanted you to know that…you're the best little niece any aunt could ever ask for. You've been a real sport this whole time and…I know I've put you through a lot this last year and a half but…I'm going to make it up to you…okay?"

"Will you take me to Disney World?"

Arizona gave Emma a huge dimpled smile, "Yeah…I think that can definitely be arranged once I start working again."

Emma returned her aunt's smile. Her aunt had told her that her mommy and daddy loved to go to Disney World, and she wanted to go just like them.

Lucia had just gotten off of the phone with Aria when she heard a knock at the front door. She gave one quick glance towards the backyard to make sure Sofia was still playing tea party with her stuffed animals and then headed towards the front door to open it.

"Oh, hi." Arizona greeted a bit surprised. She hadn't been expecting Callie's mom to open the door.

"I'm sorry…I was just…I…um…is Calliope home?"

Lucia smiled at the clearly nervous blonde.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Torres…that was rude…I meant…may I please…"

"You can call me Lucia." The older brunette tenderly smiled at Arizona.

"Lucia…thank you." Arizona smiled back at Callie's mom; she suddenly felt more at ease in the older brunette's presence.

"Did you need to speak with Calliope?" Lucia asked.

"We brought her presents." Emma happily stated as she looked up at Sofia's grandma.

"You did did you? Lucia imitated Emma's excitement.

"Uh huh…a crown, and her horse…but I didn't take it on purpose." Emma quickly clarified the last part.

Lucia smiled down at the little girl, "So you're the one who took her horse…well, Calliope will be very happy to know you kept it safe for her." She winked at Emma.

Emma smiled back at Lucia.

"Um…maybe you could just give it to her?" Arizona nervously suggested as she reached into the plastic shopping bag she was carrying and tried to hand the horse to Lucia.

Lucia noticed the plastic crown and the wand inside the bag when Arizona was shuffling around for the horse. She had also caught on to the fact that Arizona referred to Callie by her full name, which meant her daughter must have told the blonde the story of when her husband had convinced their daughter that her name was special to them and they would never use it to hurt her…something that few people were ever privy to.

"Emma, would you like to join me and Sofia outside for a tea party?" Lucia completely ignored Arizona and stuck out her hand for Emma to take.

"I don't like tea." Emma shyly looked up towards Lucia.

"It's pretend tea." Lucia smiled down at the little girl, Emma happily taking her hand.

"Callie's room is upstairs, last door to the left." Lucia called back to Arizona as she and Emma were already walking out of the living room.

"No…wait…Mrs. Torres." Arizona ran up to the older brunette and grabbed her by her arm.

Emma had spotted Sofia and walked outside without waiting for Callie's mom, the older brunette turned to face a very nervous and scared looking Arizona.

"Please…could you just give it to her? She's not going to want to see me right now." Arizona sadly stated as she bowed her head in shame.

Lucia reached down into the shopping bag and pulled out the wand and the crown. She slowly lifted Arizona's chin and then gave her a tender smile.

She placed the plastic wand in the blonde's hand that contained the horse, then she placed the crown on the blonde's head.

She smiled at Arizona as she centered the crown, "There…perfect."

"Mrs. Torres…I can't…you don't understand…" Arizona trailed off as she sadly looked at Lucia. She had her daughter-in-law's heart beating in her chest…and she wasn't ready to tell Callie the truth. She didn't know if she would ever be ready to tell Callie _that _truth.

"I understand more than you think." Lucia lovingly stated as she gripped Arizona by the shoulders and gave the blonde a reassuring squeeze. She gave Arizona one last smile and then walked towards the backyard to sit with the girls.

Arizona closed her eyes and blew out a breath, she then tightened her grip around the horse and the wand a made her way up to Callie's room.

As Arizona reached the last door on the left, she paused momentarily as she brought her hand up and laid her palm flat against the wood; her heart beating a mile a minute and her head trying to organize and compartmentalize all her thoughts.

Since the door was slightly ajar, Arizona pushed slightly against the door and it opened a little more. She could see Callie's form lying on the bed; the brunette had her back to the door.

Arizona walked in the rest of the way and slipped into bed with Callie, she gently placed the horse and the wand down in between her and Callie's bodies and then reached out to hug Callie from behind; they were now in the spooning position.

"Arizona." Callie knowingly stated.

"How'd you know it was me?" Arizona whispered against Callie's ear.

"The way your arms feel around me…and the way you smell." Callie admitted.

"Are you saying I stink?" Arizona teasingly asked.

Callie chuckled, "No…and don't make me laugh…I'm still upset with you."

Arizona nodded as she pulled Callie closer against her.

A comfortable silence fell upon them as Arizona held onto Callie, the brunette's own hands had come up to wrap around the blonde's.

After a while Arizona's voice broke the silence, "I'm sorry...please don't stay mad at me Callie."

"I'm not mad…I was hurt."

Arizona nodded against Callie's shoulder, "I know…and I'm sorry…I just…I don't know what I would do if you ever hated me." A whimpered cry escaped the blonde's lips.

Callie quickly turned around in Arizona's arms and hugged the blonde closer to her chest, "Hey…I could never hate you." She softly stated.

"You don't know that." Arizona cried softly as she pulled back and looked directly into Callie's eyes.

Callie's heart melted at the look of vulnerability in the blonde's cerulean blue eyes, she gripped the sides of Arizona's face so that they could both stare deeply into each other's eyes.

"Listen to me…" Callie tenderly demanded as she continued to grip the blonde's head.

"I am making you a promise right now…I. could. never. ever. hate. you!"

Arizona swallowed thickly as silent tears continued to escape her eyes, "You don't know that." She sadly repeated.

Callie's two thumbs instinctively wiped away at Arizona's tears, "Want to know what I do know?"

Arizona nodded.

"I know that I really like you. I wake up every morning smiling because I know that I'm going to get to have breakfast with you. I know that I want to celebrate a bunch more week-a-versaries with you…" Callie trailed off as she smiled at Arizona.

"What I don't know is why you're wearing a plastic crown on your head." Callie confusingly knitted her eyebrows as she pointed to the crown on the blonde's head.

Arizona chuckled as she pulled the crown off, "It was a gift for you…for our week-a-versary." She admitted with a slight blush.

Callie smiled brightly, "You did that for me?" She was more than touched at the blonde's sweet gesture.

"It's stupid."

"No…please…I love it. Will you put it on me?"

Arizona nodded as both women sat up and Arizona placed the crown on Callie's head.

"How do I look?" The brunette smiled brightly at the blonde as she wiggled her eyebrows.

"Like a beautiful princesa." Arizona knowingly answered, both women sharing a smile.

"I um…I also brought you back something." Arizona lifted the horse up.

Callie gasped as she quickly reached out for the horse, "Where did you…"

"Emma accidently fell asleep with him, she found him wrapped up in her blanket…I'm sorry…it was an accident and…"

"It's okay." Callie answered quickly as she noticed the panic laced in Arizona's voice, she knew the blonde still had her moments were she would struggle with certain situations and would remember her abuse.

Arizona swallowed thickly, "It was an accident."

"I know." Callie nodded and gave the blonde a reassuring smile.

Arizona watched as the brunette turned her attention back to the horse and ran her fingers over the mane.

"Is there a story behind it?" Arizona asked in a soft whisper.

Callie nodded and went on to tell Arizona the story about the three horses her wife had won at the fair, and how she had labeled them with initials, MM for Mommy Melissa, MC for Mami Callie and BT for Baby Torres.

"After her accident…we never found the third horse." Callie sadly stated.

The brunette reached over and placed the horse on her nightstand, she wiped at her tears and turned back to face Arizona with a sad smile.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to be all depressing." She chuckled.

Arizona desperately reached over and brought Callie in for a hug, "I'm sorry Callie…I am so sorry…please…please…I'm sorry." Arizona hysterically cried.

"Hey…hey…it's okay…listen…why…what are you so upset about?" Callie was so confused and really worried about Arizona's reaction.

"For the things I said today and for…" Arizona continued to cry over Callie's shoulder.

"Look at me?" Callie lovingly suggested as she pulled back from their hug and stared at Arizona.

"I'm sorry too…I know I lied to you and…it was a lot to take in…especially the way you found out…but we already forgave each other…right?"

Arizona nodded, "Promise me…promise me that you'll remember today and that you won't hate me?" The blonde desperately pleaded.

"I promise." Callie stated.

Arizona nodded and hugged Callie tightly to her, the brunette soothingly rubbed her hand up and down the blonde's back.

Arizona continued to hold Callie tightly to her, she never wanted this moment to end…because she knew eventually the truth would come out and she would lose Callie forever. She felt guilty for not telling Callie the truth…but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

They continued to hug for a while longer, Arizona had calmed down significantly. Their hug only being broken when Callie felt something poking her.

"What's this?" Callie reached down in between their bodies to pull up a princess wand.

The brunette chuckled, "You got me a wand too!" She happily exclaimed.

Arizona laughed at the excitement in Callie's voice.

Both women were now sitting in an upright position, their backs against the headboard of Callie's bed.

"Oooo…and it lights up when you wave it." Callie happily waved the wand around. It had a star shaped tip that flickered whenever you waved it.

Arizona playfully rolled her eyes at the brunette's exuberance.

"I have an idea…give me your hand."

"What for?" Arizona suspiciously asked with raised eyebrows.

"You are a stick in the mud." Callie playfully chastised Arizona, "Now please give me your hand."

The blonde sighed but stuck out her hand. Callie took it and placed it around the wand; she then wrapped her hand over Arizona's.

"Okay, now when I shake it…you have to make a wish."

"Callie…no…this is silly." Arizona tried to pull back her hand.

"No it's not…it's a light up star…you always have to make a wish when it's a light up star."

"And where is this supposed rule about light up stars written?" Arizona giggled.

"It's a universally known unwritten rule…you really need to get out more." Callie playfully smirked.

The blonde rolled her eyes but then brought up her second hand to wrap around her's and Callie's that were already on the wand. The brunette smiled and brought up her other hand also.

Callie put the wand in between them, their faces only a few inches apart from each other.

"Ready?" The brunette whispered, her lips inches apart from the blonde's.

Arizona swallowed thickly as she felt Callie's hot breath over her lips.

"Yes." The blonde nervously whispered as she nodded.

Callie gave Arizona a flirty smile, "Close your eyes...and at the count of three...we shake it...and you make your wish."

"One, two…three."

They both shook the wand, Callie watched as Arizona closed her eyes and made her wish; the blonde opened her eyes and her breath hitched when Callie's chocolate brown lust filled orbs were staring back at her.

"In order for it to come true you have to blow on it." Callie husked as she sexily blew a slow breath over the top of the wand.

Arizona's swallowed thickly at the sexy way Callie's soft, plump, perfect lips blew on the wand. She too followed the brunette's lead and blew on it.

"What did you wish for?" Callie asked in a soft whisper.

"If I tell you it won't come true." Arizona whispered back, Callie nodded at her answer.

"That's not necessarily true." The brunette argued with a flirtatious smile.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah…for instance…I wished that I could kiss you…and I have a feeling that if I say it out loud…I have a better chance of it coming true." Callie whispered as she stared deeply into Arizona's eyes.

Arizona nodded and slowly closed the distance between her and Callie, the brunette's hands instinctively reached up and delved into golden locks, the wand long forgotten. Arizona moaned into the kiss as Callie's soft lips connected with hers. Arizona boldly stuck out her tongue and passed it over the brunette's lips seeking entrance that was granted immediately.

Both women continued to kiss passionately until they felt the need for air and pulled apart, both of their noses now only inches apart. Callie leaned her forehead to rest against Arizona's.

"I'm really glad you told me your wish." The blonde stated.

Callie smiled, "I'm really glad too."

"Calliope?"

"Hmmm?"

"I made your wish come true…now you have to make my wish come true."

"What was your wish?" Callie asked in a hushed whisper as she pulled back to stare at Arizona's eyes and tucked some hair behind the blonde's ear.

"I wanted to kiss you." Arizona smirked.

"Your wish is my command." The brunette smiled brightly as she leaned in to meet the blonde's lips yet again.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Grey's Anatomy character(s) and/or settings, or any other outside material(s) that may be mentioned in this story. This story is for entertainment purposes only.**

**A/N: You guys are awesome! Thanks for all the reviews, favorites and followers on this story.**

_**Italics are thoughts, dreams, or flashbacks.**_

Callie smiled as she opened her eyes and noticed that a certain blonde had fallen asleep in her arms. The brunette glanced over Arizona's shoulder to look at her alarm clock and noticed that it was 8:23 a.m., which meant Arizona had spent the night.

Callie's smile grew even wider when she saw that Arizona was comfortably snoozing and had a small smile on her face. She liked that the blonde felt so comfortable in her arms.

The brunette slowly brought her hand up to caress Arizona's soft skin, a bit of anger overtaking her when she spotted the bruises that still marred the blonde's skin. She carefully ran her fingers over them; just the thought of somebody laying a finger on Arizona boiled Callie's blood. She carefully inspected the bruises; they had almost all but faded away.

She continued to softly trace her fingertips over Arizona's features; her forehead, her hairline, her eyebrows, her eyelids, the length of her nose, her soft lips. Callie stilled her hand when Arizona crinkled her nose, a small smile tugging at the corner of the brunette's lips…the blonde looked absolutely adorable.

"_You're back." The redhead from Arizona's dreams announced as she saw the blonde bending over and smelling some flowers._

_At the sound of Melissa's voice Arizona turned her head, she had been hoping to dream with the woman…she had so many unanswered questions._

"_Why didn't you tell me who you were?" Arizona asked. _

_She had been having dreams with this woman for the last four years; the least she could have done was tell her that they had shared the same heart. Although, Arizona had always suspected that the redhead was her donor._

_The redhead ignored the blonde's question and continued about her original task. She had been preparing a flower bed to plant some new roses._

"_I'm talking to you." Arizona angrily bit. She was kind of mad about this whole situation. She really liked Callie, but she was afraid that once Callie found out the truth she wouldn't be able to accept her for her. _

_She had always struggled with having lived because of somebody else dying. She thought that putting a face to her donor would have made it easier…but starting to fall for your donor's wife? _

_Well, that was a whole other problem in and of itself, one that she knew would eventually come back to bite her in the ass._

"_It's your dream Arizona." The redhead answered but never once lifted her gaze towards the blonde._

_Arizona nodded, "So…it's my dream…and you're ignoring me? Yeah…that makes a whole lot of sense." Arizona scoffed._

_Melissa could feel Arizona's angry eyes staring at her; the redhead sighed and finally looked up towards the other woman._

"_Who says I'm ignoring you?" Melissa asked as she squinted, the bright sun was directly hitting her face. She brought her hand up to shield her eyes from it._

_Arizona rolled her eyes, "So, we can talk about the fact that I like your wife…and that she likes me back?"_

_Melissa turned her head away and started planting again._

"_I want Callie to be happy." Was the redhead's whispered reply._

_Arizona kneeled down next to Melissa and stilled her hands, "But you're not happy…right?"_

_Melissa slowly turned to face Arizona and gave the woman a sad smile, "But I will be...it's just hard."_

_Arizona nodded in understanding._

_Melissa went back to preparing the soil._

_After a few minutes she spoke up, "Help me." She requested of Arizona._

_Arizona started helping Melissa with the with the soil but she knew the redhead really meant she wanted help accepting the fact that she and Callie had feelings for each other._

"_What are we planting?" The blonde asked as she planted alongside Melissa, like she had done so many times before during her dreams with the woman. _

"_They're roses…for you."_

"_For me?" Arizona furrowed her eyebrows._

_Melissa turned and smiled at Arizona, "That's your favorite flower...isn't it?"_

_Arizona nodded in agreement._

_"Roses are so beautiful...they're in a class of their own." Melissa stated, __"And when the time is right…they'll be ready for you." She finished and then went back to planting._

_Arizona sighed, "I didn't tell Callie the truth about your heart." She sadly whispered._

"_I don't want to talk about that anymore."_

"_I do." Arizona stopped the redhead's hands yet again, the desperate tone in her voice abundantly clear._

_Melissa stopped but didn't lift her gaze to meet Arizona's, "It's not my heart anymore."_

_Arizona let out a scoff, "Try telling that to Callie."_

"_No…__**you**__ try telling that to Callie." Melissa angrily stated, her green eyes looking directly at the blonde and challenging her._

_As tears pooled in Arizona's eyes, Melissa's demeanor softened right away, "I'm sorry...I'm sorry." She whispered and then looked away in shame. She never meant to make Arizona cry._

_They remained quiet for a while until a sniffle escaped Arizona; Melissa forced herself to look back at her._

"_I'm sorry." She apologized yet again, Arizona nodded her head._

"_Look…maybe…maybe my heart was always meant to be yours…and your heart was always meant to beat for Callie." Melissa stated as a tear rolled down her cheek._

"_Will Callie see it that way?" Arizona sadly asked, tears trailing down her cheeks as well._

"_The heart wants what it wants Arizona...and from the moment she laid eyes on you…you were what her heart wanted." The redhead sadly smiled._

_The quietly stared at each other, Melissa's voice finally breaking the silence, "Now make yourself useful and help me finish planting these flowers." _

_She and Arizona shared a small smile; Arizona nodded and started to help._

Callie was busy watching Arizona sleep. The blonde had started to stir and mumble and her breathing had become labored. Callie was softly running her fingers over the blonde's cheeks, Arizona was starting to calm down and her breathing was finally evening out again.

"What are you doing?"

Callie jumped at the sound of Emma's small, yet protective voice; she quickly removed her hand from Arizona's cheek.

The brunette's heart wanted to jump out of her chest, she hadn't been expecting for anyone to come into her room and surprise her. She felt like a child who had been caught red-handed with her hand in the cookie jar.

"I was um…it looked like she was having a bad dream." Callie felt the need to defend her actions to the five year old that was currently staring her down.

Callie watched as both Emma and Sofia climbed onto the bed, each of them in pajamas. Callie figured her mom had probably found a pair of Sofia's to fit Emma.

"Nope, she's smiling…that means she's having a good dream." Emma informed after she crawled over towards Arizona to get a good look at her face, the little girl's own face only mere inches away from her aunt's.

Emma's crawling had broken Callie and Arizona's hug, so the brunette decided to go ahead and sit up on the bed.

"Good morning mami!" Sofia happily greeted as she nestled into her mother's lap.

"Good morning baby!" Callie happily replied as she planted a big kiss on Sofia's cheek, she made sure to make a popping noise when she did it...Sofia giggling at her mom's silliness.

"Mami, you didn't tuck me in yesterday." Sofia complained.

"I know baby…I'm sorry. But I'll make it up to you."

"How?"

"Hmmm…double story at bedtime?" Callie suggested.

"Double story…and you have to sing all three duck songs."

Callie internally winced; she hated those songs.

"How about one duck song?"

"Okay." Sofia agreed. She would just make sure to pick the longest one.

"Mami?"

"Hmmm?"

"You didn't take me to the beach yesterday either…so I told Emma that you would take us today."

Emma and Sofia both smiled at Callie, as Emma scooted away from Arizona and closer to her friend and Callie.

Callie raised her eyebrows at both girls, "Oh yeah…so you guys just make plans…and I'm supposed to do as you say."

"Uh-huh." Sofia replied.

Callie chuckled, "Well…okay…but only because you guys are so cute."

"Emma's hungry." Sofia informed her mom.

"Sofia!" Emma chastised her new friend. She didn't want Callie to get mad if she asked for food. Renee used to yell at her and said she sounded like a poor beggar.

Sofia knitted her eyebrows in confusion, "You told me you were hungry in the room."

Tears started to well in Emma's eyes and her lip started to tremble, "I'm not hungry…I wasn't begging...I swear." Her voice cracked as she looked up at Callie.

Callie sadly looked back at Emma and brought her to sit on her lap next to Sofia.

"Hey…it's okay if you're hungry." Callie stated as she gave Emma a hug.

"It is?"

"Of course…first thing everybody feels when they wake up in the morning is hunger…your tummy hasn't had anything to eat all night."

Emma sniffled as Callie continued to hold her.

"Want to know a secret?" Callie whispered in Emma's ear.

Emma nodded her head up and down.

"I'm starving…and I was thinking about making breakfast and then having it up here in bed…we could surprise your aunt with a breakfast in bed party."

Emma's dimpled smile appeared on her face at Callie's suggestion.

Callie chuckled, "I take it you like that idea?"

Emma happily nodded her head up and down several times.

"Okay, let's go see what we can conjure up."

"What does that mean mami?" Sofia asked.

"It means that I need to perform magic in the kitchen…because I am an awful mami and haven't gone grocery shopping yet." Callie sighed.

"You're the best mami ever." Sofia defended.

"Thanks Sof." Callie smiled at her daughter, Sofia could be a handful…but she loved her more than anything.

Callie stood both girls up on the bed and then got up herself. She slipped on her slippers and then picked up both girls, each of them automatically curling their bodies into Callie and settling on her hips.

The brunette only got halfway down the hall before she realized that two girls were harder to carry than just one…her back would be protesting in the morning.

"Okay, your train stops here ladies." The brunette informed as she placed both girls down on the floor near the upstairs landing.

"Why?" Sofia whined.

"Sof." Callie warningly glanced down at her daughter.

"Okay." The little girl conceded. She knew when not to push her mami's buttons.

Callie took each of their hands, the little girls' free hands holding on to the banister on either side of them, as all three made their short trek down the stairs.

As Callie stepped into the kitchen she looked through her cabinets.

"Okay guys, I have the stuff to make chocolate chip pancakes and scrambled eggs…but not the fancy kind with cheese, and ham and all that stuff." The brunette announced.

"It's okay mami…we don't always have to be so fancy." Sofia stated as she pulled out an apron for her and one for Emma.

Callie laughed at her daughter's statement as she continued to pull out all of the ingredients, plus some pans, bowls, and the mixer.

"I don't know how to tie it." Sofia informed her new friend as she slipped the aprons over her and Emma's heads.

"It's okay…I know how to tie my shoe…I'll just do it like that." Emma turned her friend around and tied Sofia's apron, but found that she was having trouble tying her own behind her back since she couldn't see what she was doing.

"Need some help?" Callie smiled down at Emma as she playfully tugged the little girl closer to her by the apron strings and tied them.

"Thanks." Emma gave Callie a dimpled smile.

All three of them started to make breakfast, Lucia eventually coming downstairs to join them.

"Mama, thanks for yesterday…for watching Sof and Emma."

Lucia smiled, "It was my pleasure."

Callie raised a knowing eyebrow her mother's way, Lucia chuckling at her daughter's antics.

"Okay, maybe _pleasure_ wasn't the right word." The older Torres teased as she smiled into her coffee mug. Sofia and Emma had run her ragged yesterday, but all in all she did have a nice evening with the girls.

"No, no…no,no,no…please…" Arizona mumbled in her sleep, small beads of sweat starting to form on her brow.

"_I can't be with you knowing you have my wife's heart. I'm sorry." Callie stated as she walked away without looking back._

"_No, please…please…Calliope…it's my heart…it's my heart!" Arizona yelled after Callie, the brunette's form vanishing._

"_Oh no…your precious Calliope went bye-bye." Arizona heard a familiar voice menacingly laughing from behind; as she turned around she spotted Renee._

"_Leave me alone." She meekly whispered._

"_Leave me alone." Renee mimicked Arizona in a whiney voice as she grinned at her. _

"_It's only a matter of time before you have to come back to meeeeee." She mocked the blonde in a sing song voice. _

"_And when you do…you know what's going to happen don't you?" She angrily glared at Arizona as she slowly walked towards the blonde._

_Arizona shook her head from side to side; she started running backwards away from Renee, the blonde only stopping when she bumped into somebody. _

_When Arizona turned around she saw her best friend, "Oh thank God…Teddy…please…please help me…I'm ready for you to help me…I'm sorry…please help me?" _

_Arizona watched as Teddy stared at her with confusion in her eyes._

"_Teddy, it's me…it's Arizona…your best friend." Arizona pleaded as she gripped Teddy by her upper arms._

_Teddy forcefully moved out of the blonde's hold, "I'm sorry…I don't have a best friend." She angrily stated and then proceeded to walk away._

"_No, no…Teddy…it's me…I'm sorry…come back…COME BACK!" Arizona desperately yelled as she felt Renee grabbing her._

"_PLEEEEAASSSEEEEE!"_

At the sound of Arizona's screams coming from upstairs, Callie worriedly looked towards her mother.

"Watch the girls…I'll be back." She didn't wait for a reply as she ran out of the kitchen.

Lucia watched as her daughter rushed out of the kitchen. She looked back to find a wide eyed Sofia, and a very nervous and scared Emma on the brink of tears.

The older brunette walked over to both girls, she brought them in for a hug and whispered words of comfort in their ears.

Callie took the steps two at a time, she quickly ran into her room and spotted Arizona flailing around and screaming, her eyes were still shut tight. The blonde's bright golden locks were drenched in sweat, and her face glistened with it as well.

"Arizona…Arizona…it's Callie…wake up…you're safe…you're safe Arizona." Callie stated as she grabbed Arizona by her shoulders and tried to avoid getting hit, the blonde's arms were still waving about wildly.

"NOOOOOO!" The blonde cried out as she darted up in bed and accidently struck Callie.

"Shit!" Callie protested as she brought her hand up to her right cheek.

Arizona's breathing was completely erratic as her chest heaved up and down, her eyes wildly scanning the room for Renee.

It took her a minute to realize where she was at, "Oh my God…Calliope…I'm so sorry." She worriedly cried as she saw the blood on Callie's hand.

"I'm fine…I'm fine." Callie tried to reassure.

"Oh my God…did I break it?" Arizona worriedly asked about Callie's cheek bone, as she tried to pull the brunette's hand away from it.

"No." Callie replied.

_It was just a cut cheek…and a bruised ego, _Callie thought to herself. The blonde had landed a good hit.

"How do you know?" The blonde asked as she was trying to check out the damage she had done, there was a lot of blood. She stood up and led Callie to the bathroom.

She sat Callie down on the edge of the tub and searched for a towel.

Callie raised an eyebrow, "Orthopedic Surgeon…I deal in broken bones…I'm slightly offended." Callie stated in a teasing voice.

"How could you be joking at a time like this?" Arizona tenderly asked as she walked back towards Callie and started cleaning up some of the blood with a washcloth she had found.

Callie lovingly smiled back at the blonde and shrugged her shoulders.

Arizona internally noting that she wasn't fearful in Callie's calm and loving presence. What a contrast to how she would feel in Renee's presence whenever she had landed a good hit.

"How does it look?" Callie worriedly asked once Arizona had finished up.

"Small cut and some discoloration on the edges…so there will probably be bruising later. I'm really sorry." She shamefully stated, she couldn't believe she had hit Callie.

"I guess it's good though…I mean...it could have been worse right?" Arizona worriedly asked, Callie playfully snickered at her choice of words.

"Ow." The brunette pouted as she brought her hand up to her cheek, she shouldn't have snickered.

Arizona smiled, "Doesn't mean it won't hurt when you laugh...or make fun of me. You didn't let me finish my assessment Dr. Torres." She playfully chastised.

Callie smiled back as she pulled Arizona by her hips, the blonde landing on her lap. Arizona's legs were now on either side of Callie's thighs.

"So, what's your course of treatment for me?" She husked over the blonde's lips.

Arizona smirked, "Kisses…lots and lots of kisses."

"Oh yeah?"

Arizona sexily squinted and nodded, "Uh-huh."

"The only thing is…I can't make up my mind where." She huskily whispered.

Callie expectantly raised her eyebrows.

"I'm not sure if they should be…here." Arizona softly whispered as she kissed Callie's forehead.

"Or…here." She kissed Callie's left eyelid.

"Or here." Another kiss to the right eyelid.

"Or…here...and here." She kissed each of Callie's cheeks.

"No, not there…hurts there." Callie whispered as she and Arizona locked eyes.

"Hmmm." Arizona pretended to comtemplate.

"How about here?" Arizona huskily whispered as she leaned in and planted a kiss on Callie's lips.

Callie smiled into the kiss, "Yeah…there…definitely there. I'm feeling better already."

Arizona chuckled at the brunette's response.

Both women continued to kiss each other, after a while they pulled back and shared a knowing smile.

"I really am sorry." Arizona gave Callie an apologetic smile.

"I know. I'm fine…I promise."

"Must have been some dream though…do you want to talk about it?" Callie lovingly asked as she tucked some hair behind Arizona's ear.

As Callie felt the blonde stiffened in her arms, she brought her in for a hug.

"I'm sorry." She whispered in Arizona's ear. "You don't have to tell me. I just want to make sure you're okay now?"

Arizona closed her eyes and nodded as she hugged Callie even closer to her.

"Okay. That's all that matters." The brunette stated as she kissed the side of Arizona's head.

They remained in their embrace. Callie's arms safely sheltering Arizona from her inner demons.

After a while both women pulled back from the hug.

"You know…Emma was really worried about you."

Arizona nodded; she knew her niece probably freaked out when she heard her screaming.

"And we were making breakfast…to have a breakfast in bed party." Callie smiled.

"A breakfast in bed party?" Arizona questioned with a quirked eyebrow.

"Oh yeah…you haven't lived till you've had a breakfast in bed party." Callie smiled at the blonde as she motioned with her head for both of them to go downstairs.

They eventually went downstairs and brought up trays of pancakes and eggs, as well as orange juices for the girls, which they poured inside of some colorful plastic cups that had lids and straws. They were Sofia's, the little girl had a plethora of them; Callie would use them so that her daughter wouldn't spill her drinks all over the house.

Arizona and Callie opted for mugs of hot coffee, both women needing the caffeine boost for the rest of their day, especially since Callie had proposed a shopping trip to the grocery store and then eventually a day of bike riding at the beach.

Callie's mom had decided to go back to her own house, so that Callie and Arizona could spend the day together alone with the girls…and so that she could gain back some of the energy she had lost while babysitting them yesterday.

The girls had had their fill and were now lying down on the bed in between Callie and Arizona, both of them with their little hands over their bellies and their eyes heavily drooping.

Arizona smiled down at both girls as she gestured with her head for Callie to take in how cute they looked.

Callie giggled quietly at their protruding little bellies, "Man…who knew such little stomachs could fit so much food." She teased; Arizona chuckling at the brunette's statement.

"Um…maybe we should get ready while their sleeping?" Callie unsurely suggested.

Arizona nodded but self consciously looked down at her clothes. She still had the same one she had been wearing since last week, and last night she had fallen asleep and hadn't been able to wash hers or Emma's.

Callie noticed the change in Arizona's demeanor.

"This is silly." The brunette sighed, Arizona looking at her with a confused expression.

"Arizona, I have tons of clothes…my sister does too…and for some reason she chooses to keep most of it here…it would probably fit you."

"And Sofia has a whole closet of stuff that she's never even put on…why don't you use…"

Arizona cut Callie off before she could finish, "No…you've already done so much Callie. More than you even realize…and I can't…it'll just be worse later." She sadly looked at the brunette.

"Worse later?" Callie questioned with a hint of confusion.

"Nevermind." Arizona mumbled as she turned her head away from Callie and sighed.

Callie reached out and grabbed Arizona's chin, she gently turned the blonde's face so that she could look at her.

The brunette's heart broke when she noticed the tears falling from Arizona's eyes.

"Okay…just listen…I don't know much about you. I don't know…" Callie trailed off with chuckle.

"I just learned your first name two days ago for goodness sake…and I'm not as crazy as you to google people soooooo…" She teased and playfully winked, knowing that that's how the blonde had learned so much about her.

At Callie's statement a small smile tugged at Arizona's lips.

"What I do know is…sometimes in our lives we need people to help us…and to open doors for us…and it's okay to walk through them…because it's what you do once you get your foot through that door that counts."

"My father would have never gotten anywhere had he not accepted a little help along the way. You're a fighter Arizona…I can tell." Callie smirked and pointed to her cheek, Arizona giggling at the brunette's antics.

"And I know that once you get back on your feet…there'll be no stopping you."

**A/N: The quote that Melissa uses during Arizona's dream - 'The heart wants what the heart wants' - is from none other than famous poet Emily Dickinson. However, it is not from one of her poems, rather a letter she wrote to one of her friends way back when - I honestly can't remember the year. So, technically it isn't from any of her published works but I still mentioned it just in case...plagiarism, blah, blah, blah.**

**This chapter was meant to be longer and include the grocery store trip and their outing to the beach, but it was getting a little long...EEK!**

**So, I will probably write about their day out together with the girls on the next chapter, if that's something you guys would like to see?**

**Also, I am thinking about bringing back a few people...some we like e.g. - Teddy, and some...not so much - *Renee* cough, cough. But I need to bring her back in order to get rid of her for good.**

**As always, please let me know what you think.**

**XOXOXO**

**Oh, one last thing...'_The Duck Song'_ mentioned in this chapter by Sofia, is a set of three different songs (labeled Duck Song 1, 2, and 3) that drive me batshit crazy every morning when I drive my daughters to daycare. But that's probably because I've listened to them a bajillion times. However, if you guys want to check them out go ahead...they're not so bad in small doses.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Grey's Anatomy character(s) and/or settings portrayed in this story, or any other outside material that may be mentioned. This story is for entertainment purposes only.**

**A/N: I can't say this enough, I am blown away by all the wonderful feedback on this story. The reviews, the favorites, the followers, the PM's...you guys are absolutely wonderful. Thank you so, so much!**

**Also, I am not from the Seattle area, so if any places mentioned are a little off, I am sorry.**

_**Italics equal thoughts, dreams, or flashbacks.**_

Arizona stepped into the shower of the guest bathroom in Callie's house; the warm water cascading over her head and down her body. She closed her eyes for a moment and allowed for the soothing shower to serve as a reprieve from the outside world. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so comfortable while taking a shower, she could have easily locked the door…but didn't feel the need to. Obviously she had showered at the hotel, but this felt homier…it felt right.

She opened her eyes and reached for the shampoo, as soon as she popped the top open the smell invaded her senses, it was a mixture of coconut and vanilla. As she dabbed some on her hand and began to massage her scalp, she smiled when the familiar smell engulfed the entire shower. The scent reminding her of Callie instantly, Callie always smelled so…scrumptious.

Arizona smiled to herself as she thought about the beautiful brunette. She had agreed to borrow some of Callie's sister's clothes; the brunette took that as an invite to pack a whole suitcase full of clothing for her and a separate one for Emma.

Callie had packed a bunch of her sister's and Sofia's clothing inside of the suitcases. She told Arizona it would be easier for her to just sort through it later on at the hotel, and that it wouldn't be a problem if she decided she could use most of it. She wondered what Callie's sister would say when she found out that her older sibling had left her practically naked.

Arizona smiled at the thoughtfulness behind Callie's actions. Packing a bunch of clothes for Arizona to choose on her own meant that the brunette was in tune with Arizona's feelings, Arizona loved that about Callie. The brunette would always try to avoid making Arizona feel like she was trying to control her by telling her how to dress, look, or act.

As Arizona continued to wash her body she passed her hand over the large bruise on her thigh, reality quickly setting back in. Thoughts of Renee entered her mind. Renee telling her how to dress, what to buy, what to throw away because it was too slutty or too revealing, how she thought the perfect girlfriend should behave according to her warped mind and how Arizona would always let her down.

Renee's words and actions slowly invading the blonde's mind, Arizona could feel the tears building in her eyes as she thought about how she allowed Renee to take away her very being, her soul…the very core of who she was…Renee had stripped it all away and she had let her.

A smile no longer graced the blonde's face as she took in a deep breath. She really needed to talk to Callie about the abuse and the fact that she wanted to do something about it.

Before everything had gone down yesterday with her finding out that Callie was the owner of the hotel and that Melissa's heart was beating in her chest, Arizona had planned on talking to Callie and telling her the truth about her past.

She decided that she still wanted to do that today, so she would have her day out with Callie and the girls but afterwards she and the brunette would talk. She needed to tell her the truth about Renee, her parents, Teddy…_and the heart._

As that last thought entered Arizona's mind, she closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the cold tiles of the shower wall. Her emotions getting the better of her as the tears that she had tried so hard to keep at bay, slowly tracked down her cheeks. She wasn't ready to lose Callie, so she decided that she wouldn't bring up the subject of her transplant just yet. However, she at least wanted to contact her parents and Teddy, and she needed to file a report and a protection order against Renee for her and Emma's safety.

Arizona finished her shower and then got dressed. She was sitting in front of the vanity of the guest room putting the finishing touches on her hair when she heard a light knock on the bedroom door.

"Hey, you ready?" Callie called through the closed door.

"Yeah, come in."

Callie peeked her head inside when she heard the sound of Arizona's voice telling her to come in. Arizona chuckled when she noticed the brunette with her hand over her eyes.

"Calliope, what are you doing?" The blonde asked with a hint of amusement.

"I didn't know if you were decent." Callie responded, her hand still covering her eyes.

"Why would I tell you to come in?"

"Well, I was kind of hoping that you wouldn't want be decent for me." Callie teased.

Although Callie's hand was still over her eyes, Arizona saw when the brunette wiggled her eyebrows. Arizona laughed at the brunette's antics as she walked over and pulled Callie's hand away from her eyes.

The brunette smiled brightly at the blonde, "May I kiss you?" She asked in a soft whisper.

Arizona nodded and tilted her head as she closed the distance between her and Callie. Arizona's lips meeting Callie's for a tender kiss.

The brunette pulled back from the kiss, but brought the blonde in for a hug. She buried her face in the crook of Arizona's neck; Arizona giggled and squirmed away as Callie's soft lips kept placing ticklish kisses on her neck.

"Calliope." Arizona giggled.

Callie chuckled but didn't stop her kissing, "Mmmm…I can't help it…your skin is soft after the shower…I just want to eat you up."

After a few more playful kisses, the blonde spoke up.

"Are you ready to leave?" Arizona asked as she pulled back and gave Callie a dimpled smile, her hands pressed over the brunette's chest stifling any further access to her neck. Callie leaned over and playfully landed a few more kisses before she leaned back and winked at the blonde.

"I am…but the girls seem to think a Jacuzzi filled with bubbles is better than a trip to Disney. I can't get them out." Callie sighed as Arizona rolled her eyes.

"You just have to learn to put your foot down Calliope." Arizona stated.

"Oh, really…so Miss 'put your foot down'…you think you can get them out?" Callie raised a challenging eyebrow at Arizona.

"Piece of cake." The blonde shrugged and then walked pass Callie with her head held high accepting the challenge.

Callie smirked as she followed Arizona, she wanted to see this.

Sofia and Emma had decided that they wanted to take a bubble bath inside of the Jacuzzi in Callie's room. They had each put on one of Sofia's bathing suits and decided that they would pretend to go swimming at home, since they wouldn't be able to go swimming later on at the beach.

Both Callie and Arizona had pretty much tromped their little beach swimming dreams when they had told them that the weather was still slightly cold and that they wouldn't be getting in the water.

Callie and Arizona walked into Callie's master bathroom to find the two girls happily splashing around.

"Hey you two…are you ever going to come out of there?" Callie asked with a hint amusement as she sat near the edge of the tub.

Arizona stood back leaning against the doorway of the bathroom, a small giggle escaping her lips when both Sofia and Emma shook their heads no at Callie's question and then continued to splash around.

"Why don't we just stay here and you and Arizona go shopping…then you can just come back to take us to the beach." Sofia suggested as she smiled up at her mom.

"Uh…I don't think so." Callie laughed as she motioned for Sofia to stand up, the little girl not listening as she pushed herself off of the wall of one side of the Jacuzzi and floated to the other.

Callie looked over at Arizona as if to say, _'you see what I mean.'_

Arizona teasingly shook her head in disappointment at the brunette.

"Hey guys…it's getting late, we have to get going." Arizona stated as she too walked closer to the tub, both girls pouting at her.

"If you both get out now…I'll give you five dollars each." Arizona bribed, both girls standing up immediately.

"Wait…what? That's not fair…you bribed them." Callie complained.

"Yeah…what's not fair is that I don't have any money…which means you're going to have to pay them." Arizona whispered in Callie's ear as she leaned back and made a 'yikes' face.

Callie opened and closed her mouth a few times to say something, but no words came out.

"Mami, you shouldn't leave your mouth open like that…abuela says flies will get in it." Sofia warned her mother.

Arizona pursed her lips at the little girl's comment, as Emma made a 'yuck' face.

"Well, who knew it was pick on Callie day." The brunette teasingly grumbled as she stood up and released the lever so that the water could drain from the Jacuzzi, Arizona smiling at the brunette's antics.

Callie wrapped Sofia up in a towel and lifted her from the tub.

"Oh um…Emma's towel is right there." Callie motioned with her head towards the sink since her arms were full with Sofia.

Arizona nodded as she grabbed the towel and then walked over to help Emma out of the tub as well.

Callie walked out of the room while carrying her daughter; she went towards Sofia's room to get her ready.

As the water kept draining, Arizona looked on as Emma happily giggled when the water was almost all gone.

"What's so funny silly girl?" Arizona smiled down at her niece.

"The water feels funny on my feet." She gave her aunt a huge dimpled smile; since the water was draining Arizona figured that the pressure from the water was probably the cause for her niece's laughter.

Arizona smiled back at her niece; she loved seeing Emma so happy.

She wrapped Emma up in the towel that Callie had left for her and carried her towards the guest room.

She quickly searched through the suitcase that contained the clothes for Emma and picked out some jeans, a top, a jacket, panties and socks.

"Aunty Zona?"

"Hmmm?" Arizona mumbled as she continued to dry Emma off.

"I really like taking baths in the big bathtub like the one here…and the one at the hotel."

Arizona smiled at Emma's statement.

"And you know what else?" Emma excitedly asked.

"What else?" Arizona mocked Emma's excitement.

"I really like Callie and Sofia."

"I really like them too." Arizona winked at Emma.

"Oh…and I like Callie's mom." Emma added as an afterthought.

Arizona chuckled, the poor woman had spent all of yesterday afternoon with the two rambunctious little girls, she was sure Mrs. Torres would be happy to know she had been included in Emma's list of her top favorite people.

Once everyone was dressed and ready to go they headed out towards the car so that they could go to the grocery store first.

"No Emma…you have to sit on your side." Sofia demanded as she pointed to the driver's side of the car so Emma could walk around the other way.

"Sofia!" Callie chastised.

Sofia looked up at her mother with watery eyes, "She has a side and I have a side…she has to sit behind you and I have to sit behind Arizona…so you guys can look at uuuussssssss." Sofia started to cry as she brought her little hands up to cover her face.

The little girl reasoned that if she sat behind Arizona, when her mami looked back she would see her…and if Emma sat behind her mami, her aunt could see her when she looked back.

Callie sighed and walked over to pick up her crying daughter, she never liked to see Sofia so upset.

"I'm sorry baby…but you have to say it nicer." Callie tenderly stated as she rocked Sofia back and forth and soothingly rubbed her back.

"IIIII'mmmmm…ssssooooorrrryyyyy." Sofia continued to sob into Callie's shoulder.

As Sofia continued to cry, Callie felt slightly embarrassed in front of Arizona. The blonde decided to step in and help.

"Sofia, hey look at me?"

Sofia lifted her head off of her mother's shoulder, her tears still coming full force.

"If Emma already has a side…that just means you really like us...right?" Arizona asked as she gently ran her fingers through the little girl's soft locks.

Sofia nodded in agreement, a few sniffles escaping her nose.

"Well, that's good…because we really like you guys too." The blonde smiled at Sofia and then locked eyes with Callie and gave her a knowing smile.

Callie smiled back at the blonde and then gave Sofia a few more kisses so she could calm down and they could be on their way.

Once they got the girls strapped into their booster seats, Callie had went out and bought an extra one for Emma the night of her and Arizona's date. Callie and Arizona then sat in the front and put on their own seatbelts as they finally headed towards the store.

"Um…do you think we could stop by the hotel after dropping off the groceries?" Arizona nervously asked. She really needed to take her meds.

"Of course." Callie replied as she looked over and smiled at the blonde.

Callie discreetly reached over and hoped that Arizona would take her hand, the blonde smiled as she reached out to grab it, her hand instantly molding into the brunette's, the drive to the grocery store only taking about ten minutes or so…so the hand holding was short lived.

As they entered the store, Arizona reached for the complimentary wipes to sanitize their shopping cart, Callie giggling at the blonde.

"What?" Arizona asked with a hint of amusement.

"Nothing, I just knew you would be the 'sanitizing grocery carts' type." Callie shrugged her shoulders.

"What, don't you like the 'sanitizing grocery carts' type?" Arizona flirtatiously asked.

Callie smirked as she leaned in to whisper in the blonde's ear, "Oh yeah…it's a real turn on…and if you're the 'write out grocery lists type'…that's even hotter."

At the sound of Callie's husky voice in her ear, Arizona swallowed thickly as chills traveled up and down her spine…_was it hot in this store all of a sudden? No, seriously…did somebody turn off the air conditioner?_

Callie triumphantly walked away and left a very flustered blonde in her wake.

"I don't want to sit in the cart." Sofia protested as she saw her mother bending down to pick her up.

"Sof."

"I don't want to."

"Me neither." Emma chimed in.

"Fine, but stay close to the cart at all times." Callie warned, Sofia nodding her head and Emma following along with whatever her new friend was doing.

As they walked down the aisles, Callie began to load the cart. Arizona followed alongside, both girls on either side of her holding on to the blonde's hands.

"Look aunty Zona…marshmallows…your favorite." Emma stated as she pointed to a bag of marshmallows, Arizona acknowledging her niece's statement and smiling down at her.

"Oh…good that you reminded me…I forgot I was all out." Callie stated as she threw the largest bag into her cart.

She had been asking Emma and Arizona what they wanted this whole time, but both blondes had kept saying that they were fine.

"You hate marshmallows." Sofia announced as she furrowed her eyebrows and questioningly looked up at her mother.

"I do not...hate them." Callie nervously chuckled as three sets of eyes were staring back at her.

"I uh…I love…mmmarshmallows...IIII…uh…think they're great." Callie nervously stuttered as she nodded her head a few times.

"No you don't…you told Tia Aria they taste like crap."

At Sofia's statement Arizona pursed her lips to hold back her laughter; Callie was blushing with embarrassment…her face was as red as a tomato.

"Hey, peanut gallery…" Callie stated as she bent down to be at eye level with her daughter.

"Do mami a favor…go see what cereal you want to eat." Callie said as she pointed towards the other end of the aisle.

"Okay." Sofia shrugged her shoulders as she grabbed Emma's hand and excitedly ran to pick out her own cereal.

The chuckle Arizona had been working so hard to hold in finally escaped lips. The look of annoyance on Callie's face was priceless; Sofia obviously not caring that she had just outed her mother and her disdain for marshmallows.

"Kids…what are you going to do?" Arizona teased as she continued to laugh at Callie.

"Yeah…yeah." Callie rolled her eyes, "Laugh it up."

Arizona reached down into the cart to remove the bag of marshmallows, a few giggles still escaping her.

Callie brought her hand over Arizona's to stop her from removing the bag, "What are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm putting them back…you don't even like them."

"But you like them…and that's enough for me." Callie lovingly replied as she shook Arizona's hand and the bag of marshmallows dropped back down into the cart. Arizona swallowed thickly as she and Callie locked eyes.

"Thank you." Arizona quietly replied with a bit of emotion in her voice.

She knew it sounded silly…to get so emotional over a bag of marshmallows? But in that moment it wasn't about the marshmallows. She felt free…and acknowledged…like her voice actually mattered to someone…she hadn't felt like that in a really long time.

"You're welcome." Callie smiled back and gave her a knowing wink.

"Emma…look!" Sofia excitedly yelled as she pointed to a box of cereal. They had seen a commercial on TV when her abuela was babysitting. She remembered Emma saying she wanted to try it.

Emma gasped as she saw the cereal; the commercial said if you bought the cereal you would get a matching bowl with the cereal's name on it for free.

"Did you want to get it?" Callie asked Emma as she and Arizona had walked up to the pair, but the little girl shook her head no when she caught her aunt's eye.

Callie suspiciously eyed Emma with a playful smile and then looked back towards Arizona, the blonde giving her a dimpled smile as if nothing was going on.

"Did your aunt say no?" She asked Emma, the little girl avoiding eye contact.

Callie stood in front of Arizona and spread her arms out wide, effectively blocking the blonde from Emma's view.

"Calliope, what are you doing?" Arizona asked with a hint of laughter in her voice as she tried to reach around Callie, the brunette moving and standing in her way yet again.

"Emma…did you want the cereal?" Callie asked as she continued to playfully block Arizona.

"Calliope." Arizona whined.

Both Sofia and Emma were laughing at the silliness of the two women. Emma smiled brightly and nodded her head up and down several times signaling that she did want the cereal, Sofia taking the cue from her friend and throwing the box of cereal into their shopping cart. Sofia picked out the same one for herself; she wanted to get the matching cereal bowl just like Emma.

Both girls jumped on the end of the cart and held on, as Callie and Arizona continued to walk side by side and shop. The rest of the shopping trip was spent with Arizona becoming a bit more comfortable and picking out a few items that she and Emma liked, Callie letting her know that it was for when she and Emma came over to visit, so that they would be able to pick and choose from those snacks as well as anything else at the house.

Renee was sitting in the dark on the couch of her and Arizona's apartment. There was broken glass all over the place, the two lamps that used to sit on top of the end tables in the living room were now completely shattered into little pieces, and the coffee table was lined up with empty bottles of wine, beer, and hard liquor.

It had been nine days since the blonde had left her, five more than Arizona had ever been able to last without coming back to her, which is why the apartment was in this current state of disarray.

When Arizona had reached the five day mark, Renee went ballistic and started throwing and breaking everything and anything that belonged to the blonde.

She was desperate to find Arizona and speak to her; she just needed to hear her voice…so she could apologize, but if Arizona wouldn't do the things she did she wouldn't have to hurt her…why did Arizona make her do these things?

Renee had filled up the blonde's voicemails and text messages on her cell phone days ago, and now it just went straight to Arizona's voicemail…which meant the blonde had turned her phone off.

Renee was pissed as she took another sip from the bottle of wine that she was currently drinking from. She brought the bottle up to her lips several more times before she pushed play on the answering machine for about the hundredth time today.

The machine was sitting next to her on the couch, the message that she had been listening to all morning filled the quiet room once again.

_This is an automated message for…Arizona Robbins…please do not call us back…this is just to notify you that your prescriptions are ready to be picked up at…_

The message went on to provide the name of the pharmacy and the two main cross streets it was located near.

Renee hit play again…and again…and again…as she continued to sip from her now almost empty bottle of wine.

"I've got you now…you dumb BITCH!" She angrily yelled as she stood up and threw the bottle across the room, the bottle making a loud shattering noise as its red liquid slowly cascaded down the metal frame of the front door.

Callie and Arizona walked hand in hand down the sandy beach towards the shoreline. Both women were barefoot and so were Emma and Sofia, who were walking a few feet in front of the two women.

They had finished up the grocery shopping and had gone back to Callie's place to put them away. Then they had loaded up Emma and Arizona's suitcases filled with clothes into Callie's car and took them over to the hotel. Arizona discreetly went into the master bathroom and drank her meds while they were there. They had reached the beach about an hour ago and had rented a multi-passenger bike, the girls got to sit in the back and sightsee while Callie and Arizona did all the hard work of pedaling.

They had decided to go to Friday Harbor, Washington which was a small tranquil town right outside of Seattle. The San Juan Islands were the local beach for the quiet town; Callie liked going there because of the unique sunny weather it exhibited. San Juan Island would get sunshine nearly 250 days out of the year and only about half the annual rainfall of the city.

Once they had enough of the bike riding, Callie bought the girls some beach toys in a local shop and they were now headed towards the shore to play. Arizona and Callie had taken off the girls' shoes and rolled up their jeans so they wouldn't get them too wet, the two women doing the same with their own clothing.

They were currently sitting underneath a tree, on top of a blanket Callie had gotten from the trunk of her car, the girls just few feet away near the water playing in the sand. Arizona and Callie were sitting close together, their backs resting up against the trunk of the tree.

Arizona and Callie were currently looking out towards the ocean; the crashing waves, the soft sounds of nature, and Emma and Sofia's joyous laughter as they ran around complimenting the beautiful scenery before them.

"I uh…I wanted to talk to you about something." Arizona nervously stated as she avoided looking over at Callie and nervously picked at some loose threads from the blanket.

Callie turned her head at Arizona's statement, the blonde finally turning to face her.

"I want to tell you who I am Callie. I want you to know every single detail about my life…the good and the bad…and I want to be able to tell you some things today."

"Okay." Callie quietly stated.

"But there are other things that…that I have to tell you…but I'm not ready to do that just yet…" Arizona's voice cracked and a few tears rolled down her eyes.

Callie reached up and gently wiped away the blonde's tears with the pads of her thumbs.

"Then only tell me what you're ready to tell me…and I will patiently wait on you to tell me the rest." She whispered as she placed a soft kiss on Arizona's forehead, her protective hands never once leaving the blonde's face.

Arizona nodded at Callie's statement as she took in a deep breath, "My name is Arizona Robbins…and I was raised to be a good man in a storm…and to protect the things I love…but somewhere along the way I stopped loving myself…and I took Emma down with me…and that's not what I want for her…that's not what my brother and his wife wanted for her…and it's not what I want for myself anymore either."

"I was a pediatric surgeon at one of the top teaching hospitals…I was top of my class in med school and in college…I became head of my department at a very young age…I have two loving parents that must be worried sick about me because I have been lying to them about everything for the last year…and to make matters worse I would make up excuses as to why they couldn't visit or talk to me or Emma…and she misses them like crazy…she has no friends…I can't believe…" Arizona incredulously shook her head and her tears were flowing like rivers as she thought about what she had put Emma through.

"I um…I had a best friend that I loved more than anything…and I turned my back on her…I told her that she was the problem as to why…as to why my girlfriend would hit me…I was such a horrible friend…she probably hates me." Arizona let out a choked sob as memories of Teddy filled her mind.

_How could Teddy ever forgive her?_

Callie watched as Arizona started to sob uncontrollably, she brought the blonde closer to her and hugged her tightly to her chest as she repeatedly kissed the top and sides of Arizona's head.

After a few minutes of Callie's soothing hands rubbing up and down her back, Arizona calmed down and pulled back from the hug, her eyes and nose were red and puffy…serving as evidence that she had been crying.

"The woman who would...beat me..." Arizona swallowed thickly as she got the words out, it was tough to admit out loud.

"Her name is Renee Plummer, she…we were together for about a year and a half. She would…I don't even know how everything happened…little things I guess...you know?" Arizona expectantly looked at Callie, the brunette nodding her head.

"She...it started out slow …she would um…criticize me and put me down…from what I wore, to my body, to my job skills…even if I had rocked a really tough surgery…it was nothing in her eyes. I could never do anything right…I forgot to cook, or I didn't cook what she wanted, I couldn't eat what I liked…the house didn't look clean enough…her clothes weren't folded the right away. I was always walking on eggshells…and I tried so hard to be perfect and she…she um…it was never good enough for her. Her temper was so unpredictable…and she would threaten to kill me, or hurt Emma…or Teddy…if I ever left…um…I was so scared of her…I was so scared and controlled by her…she was constantly checking up on me, she would just pop up at work…and not in the sweet romantic way either…I was so afraid to eat lunch with any of my co-workers…she thought I was flirting with an intern once…when I got home that night…I didn't even have a chance to close the door before she was on me. I just started doing anything and everything I could do to avoid getting hit…but she somehow…she always found a reason…some sort of fault in me…and I started believing her."

"She started controlling my finances, put me on an allowance…would make me account for every single penny I spent…made me leave a career that I loved…isolated me from my friends and family…I don't know why I let it get so bad…how could I let it get so bad?" Arizona cried.

Callie sadly tilted her head and gave Arizona a sad smile.

"Sometimes we just get caught up…but you're doing something about it now…and I want to help…just let me know what you need?" Callie knowingly offered as she soothingly rubbed her thumbs over the blonde's cheeks.

She knew a big first step in getting out of an abusive relationship was admitting the problem and then seeking the help to move forward and away from the abusive cycle.

"I really need to call my parents…and um…I have to…I need to get my job back…I need to get my life back…I need to get me back. I need to get rid of Renee…legally I need to bring charges against her…I need to get her out of my life for good."

Callie smiled and nodded her head as she heard the conviction in Arizona's voice.

"Okay, well…we can look into filing a police report and getting a restraining order…I can have my lawyers look into all of that and…"

"Calliope…I can't get…you've done so much and I don't want to keep taking and taking and…"

"Hey, who said anything about taking…I just found out you're a pediatric surgeon…those baby doctors make a butt load of money Dr. Robbins…this is strictly a loan…I expect you to pay me back…with interest." Callie teased as she smiled at Arizona.

Arizona giggled, but nodded in agreement.

"They're tiny humans."

Callie furrowed her eyebrows, "What?"

"You said I'm a baby doctor, but I call them tiny humans."

"That's really cute…and somehow sooooo you." Callie chuckled, Arizona joining in with her.

"So can I help you get…yourself back?" Callie tenderly whispered as she tucked a strand of hair behind the blonde's ear, the blonde closing her eyes at the soothing touch.

"Please." Arizona whispered, her eyes opening up again when she felt Callie's gentle lips on her own.

"Good…now that that's settled. I can serve as a witness…and we should try to avoid having to get Emma involved as much as possible…it's a lot for a little kid to take on."

Arizona nodded, "I um…also have a bunch of threatening text and voicemail messages saved on my cell phone from her…and I still have some of the bruises on my body." She shamefully whispered the last part.

Callie got closer to her and gave her a hug, no words being spoken for a while as Callie knew that Arizona just needed to wrap her head around the idea of everything that had just transpired.

As they continued to hug Callie whispered in the blonde's ear.

"I know it's a big step…and it's hard...but it's the right thing...and I'll be here every step of the way."

Arizona pulled back to look at Callie, "Thank you...I mean it."

Callie just smiled back, the brunette knew that they couldn't get much done today being that is was Sunday and all, but tomorrow morning she would get on the phone and get everything settled right away.

Arizona blew out a heavy breath, "I am so nervous…but so ready to move on…and I feel a little excited. Is that weird?"

"No, not at all…new beginning…fresh starts…they are definitely something to get excited about. It's never too late to start planting new flowers." Callie smiled at Arizona, the blonde swallowing thickly at the brunette's words…Melissa's words.

"Mami…mami!" Sofia excitedly yelled as she ran over towards Callie, Emma following close behind.

"What is it baby?"

"I found a clam shell…does it have a pearl like the one abuelo found for you?" Sofia excitedly handed her mother the shell.

"Sorry Sof…it's empty baby."

Sofia dejectedly sagged her shoulders and pouted.

"Let's keep looking." Emma suggested as she patted her friends back, Sofia agreeing as they both ran off again.

"Your dad found a pearl in a clam shell before?" Arizona asked, knowing that it was a rare find.

"Uh yeah…right here on this very beach. It was soon after Mel's accident…I um…I wasn't much for hanging out those days." Callie sadly stated.

"But, he wanted to go out…just him and I…and I could never tell him no so, he brought me here so we could walk near the shore while watching the sunset, it was the most beautiful sight…he wanted me to get my mind off of things. That night he found the clam shell and it had a pearl inside. Sofia loves to hear the story." Callie smiled at the memory of that night with her father.

Arizona watched as Callie reached into the beach bag that she had brought, the brunette pulled out her wallet and pulled out what Arizona assumed to be that very same pearl.

"When he found it…he slipped into my hand and asked me, 'Do you know how pearls are made?'."

Callie started to tell the story as she slipped the pearl into Arizona's hand and closed the blonde's fist around it much like her father had done with her.

"He said that sometimes a clam's shell is attacked…causing a wound and a very great deal of pain." Callie trailed off as she gently passed her fingertips over the fading bruises on Arizona's jawline.

"When it's injured…it lets off this liquid that coats over the wound and it hardens. It keeps doing this over and over until it no longer feels pain…and the end result is a pearl."

"So something that started out being so painful turned into something really beautiful…" Callie trailed off as she slowly moved in to kiss Arizona's lips.

Callie's hand instinctively moved up and grabbed the back of Arizona's head, as her hand delved into golden locks the blonde's lips reciprocated the heated kiss. Callie slowly passed her tongue over the blonde's plump lips seeking entrance, a small whimper escaping Arizona as she opened her mouth to allow Callie access, both women moaned into the kiss and pulled back only when the need for air became an issue.

Even though they were no longer kissing, Callie's hands still remained at the back of the blonde's neck and their lips only centimeters apart as they both tried to control their breathing from the very steamy kiss they had just shared.

"The same thing happens to us…sometimes things happen in our lives that cause us a great deal of hurt and pain, but when we choose to do something about it…to heal ourselves no matter how hard it's going to be or how much it's going to hurt…we should definitely get excited for that. Often times what starts out as something very painful in our life can turn into something really beautiful."

The two women shared a knowing smile, Arizona's breath hitching as Callie stared back at her with those beautiful brown eyes, it seemed like the brunette was looking passed the blonde's soul and into the depths of her heart…a place that had been so closed off to so many people for so long.

The rest of their evening was spent playing with the girls and building sand castles, the later half of the afternoon to include dinner at one of the local restaurants. They had eventually made it back to Callie's place, both girls sound asleep because of the busy day they had.

Both women had just laid the girls down in Sofia's room, and they were now sitting down at Callie's kitchen table drinking some coffee.

"You mentioned earlier wanting to call your parents…and your friend." Callie's quiet voice broke the comfortable silence that had overtaken the kitchen.

Arizona worriedly looked at Callie, "I wouldn't even know what to tell them…or what to say. Especially to Teddy…I…she probably doesn't even want to hear my voice."

Callie reached over and gave Arizona's hand a reassuring squeeze, "How long did you guys know each other for?"

"Since the second grade when Jimmy Sharp who was in third grade pulled on my pigtail braids in the playground at school...and Teddy punched him right in the stomach." Arizona smiled at the memory, she and Callie sharing a laugh at the story.

"Well, I've only known you for a little over a week…and I already know that I wouldn't want to go one day without knowing about you or hearing your voice…but somebody who shares a playground fight with you…those bonds are unbreakable, so I can only imagine what she must be feeling. I'm pretty sure if you call her…let's just say I have a good feeling she's been waiting for your phone call for a very long time." Callie lovingly smiled at Arizona as she got up from the table and placed her cell phone next to the blonde.

The brunette walked out of the kitchen to give Arizona some privacy. Arizona stared at Callie's phone for a few minutes; she picked it up and swiped the screen to unlock it. She nervously stared at it and the screen went blank again, she repeated the action a few times…she was so nervous and scared of Teddy's rejection.

She swiped the screen yet again and allowed for her fingers to hover over the screen's dialpad…her fingers automatically punching in a number that she had committed to memory even though Renee had made her erase it from her cell phone and computer contacts.

She brought the phone up to her ear, as the first ring sounded loudly in her ear she drew in a deep breath.

"Hello?"

A whimpered cry left Arizona's mouth as a voice she hadn't heard in so long, but had longed to hear every day for the last year, had answered the phone.

"Teddy..." The blonde cried.

"Ari?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Grey's Anatomy character(s) and/or settings portrayed in this story, as well as any other outside material that is mentioned. This story is for entertainment purposes only.**

**A/N: Your response to this story continues to blow my mind. Thank you so much! I love to hear from all of you!**

_**Italics equals, thoughts, flashbacks, or dreams.**_

Teddy fumbled around in her purse looking for the keys to her apartment. She still had on her scrubs because she had just finished up an emergency surgery when her boyfriend had called to remind her that he needed to be dropped off at the airport. Henry had an away baseball game, but had decided to go one day after the team had left town so that he could spend more time with Teddy. The cardio surgeon had just rushed back from the airport and made it home; she was looking forward to a nice hot shower and her bed. She was exhausted; she had performed six back to back surgeries today with a very eager and annoying intern because Cristina Yang, her favorite protégé, was away at a conference.

As Teddy stepped into her apartment she dropped her bag and her keys on the loveseat in her living room and headed towards her bedroom. She pulled her cell phone and her pager from her pockets and tossed them onto the bed. She proceeded to take off her scrubs and head towards the bathroom.

Although the warm water from the shower was extremely relaxing, she decided to quickly finish up…her bed was calling her name and she was so tired she could barely keep her eyes opened. The blonde put on her pajamas and headed towards her bed. Teddy grabbed the remote control off of her nightstand and then slipped under the covers; she turned on her TV and turned off her bedroom lamp.

After a few minutes the program she had been watching started to become a fading background noise more than anything else, as sleep took over her body; the cardio surgeon only slightly stirring a few minutes later when she heard her phone ringing.

Teddy felt around her bed for her cell phone, the darkness of the room making it hard to find the object since it was tangled up in her blankets.

"Hello?" The cardio surgeon finally answered after finding her phone, her sleepy voice clearly evident as she had already started to doze off.

As Teddy heard a whimpered cry coming over the line she quickly sat up in bed, _'It couldn't be…could it?'_

"_Teddy…"_

"_Ari?"_

"_Yeah…it's me…I…"_

As Teddy heard the unmistakable voice of her best friend come over the line a smile took over the cardio surgeon's face, but it was quickly replaced with worry as she realized Arizona was crying.

"Ari? Where are you? Are you alright? Where's Emma? Do I need to come get you? Are you in danger? I can…" Teddy flooded the line with questions; she had already gotten out of bed and was searching for her car keys in the living room.

Arizona continued to cry as she heard the worry in Teddy's voice, after all this time her best friend still cared about her and was willing to drop everything to come to her rescue.

"Teddy…I'm…I'm fine…I…I' m so soooorrryyyy." Arizona sobbed into the phone.

"It's okay…just…are you safe? Where are you?" Teddy asked, her voice cracking and tears trailing down her cheeks.

"I'm at a friend's house…she…she um…I left Renee. I'm safe." Arizona stated, her voice thick with emotion as Teddy continued to be supportive.

Teddy closed her eyes; she was relieved to hear that Arizona had finally left that crazy bitch, "Can I come see you?" She eagerly asked.

"Ummm…yeah…I…we need to talk…I'm so sorry Teddy…I am so sorry…" The blonde continued to cry into the phone, she was so ashamed of what she had done to Teddy.

"Shhh…it's okay…we will definitely talk about things but, I'm just so glad to hear your voice Arizona…I um…I still ask your parents about you all the time." Teddy admittedly stated as she sat down on the couch in her living room.

Arizona let out another whimpered cry, she should have known Teddy wouldn't back down and listen when she had asked her not to call her parents and speak with them…and obviously her parents had ignored her as well when she had asked them to no longer speak with the Cardio Surgeon.

"They're um…they're worried about you because they haven't heard from you since two Saturdays ago…they say you always call on Saturdays and you skipped last week...and this one."

"When did you talk to them?" Arizona asked with a hoarse voice as she dried the tears from her face, a few sniffles escaping her nose.

"This morning…I always call to check in on you Sunday mornings." Teddy nervously stated. She didn't know if that bit of information would upset her best friend.

Arizona closed her eyes and smiled at Teddy's answer.

The line went silent for a few minutes, both women not saying much…both were probably still a little shocked that they were actually speaking to one another after all this time.

As the awkward silence continued, Teddy thought the call had been disconnected, "Arizona?" She worriedly asked.

"Yeah…I'm still here." Arizona answered in a hushed whisper.

Teddy let out a sigh of relief, "Can I come see you?" She asked yet again.

Arizona smiled at Teddy's eagerness. She really wanted to see her best friend as soon as possible, but she didn't know whether Callie would be able to drive her back to the hotel tonight, or if she could invite Teddy over to the brunette's house.

Arizona figured tomorrow would be a safe bet since Callie would have to go into work, and she would probably take her and Emma back to the hotel with her in the morning.

"Yeah…how about tomorrow?" Arizona suggested.

"How about tonight?" Teddy countered; she didn't want to take any chances. A lot could happen overnight and Arizona might change her mind about seeing her…or she might even go back to the wicked witch.

Arizona smiled into the phone, same old Teddy…persistent as ever.

"I'm at friend's right now…I'm not sure I can just invite you over…but I promise tomorrow at my hotel room we can meet…whenever you want." She reassured.

She knew Teddy was probably scared that she wouldn't contact her again after tonight…that she might decide to abruptly cut off all communication like she had the last time.

"I promise Teddy…I'm not running away this time." She firmly stated when Teddy remained quiet.

"So, this friend where you're staying…are they nice?" Teddy worriedly asked as she changed the subject, she didn't want to pressure Arizona.

Arizona smiled into the phone at her friend's concern, "Yeah…she's very nice."

"That's good…I'm glad you're okay…is uh...is Emma with you…is she…"

"Yeah, she's here also…and she's okay."

"That's good…that's really good." Teddy nodded, although Arizona couldn't see her. She was glad both Emma and Arizona were in a safe place.

"And you promise we'll meet tomorrow?" The Cardio Surgeon apprehensively asked.

"Yes…I promise."

The two friends talked for a few more minutes; mainly it was Arizona giving the address of her hotel room to Teddy and a contact number where the blonde could reach her. She also promised Teddy that she would call her mom and dad.

Teddy remained strangely quiet throughout the rest of their conversation; Arizona became worried with her friend's behavior. She had so much to tell the Cardio Surgeon, but she was afraid that their friendship would never be able to go back to the way it was before…and she only had herself to blame for that.

"Teddy, I have so much to tell you...and…I was…I've missed being your best friend so much…and I would understand if you wouldn't want me to hold that title anymore…because I certainly haven't earned it." Arizona's voice cracked.

Teddy closed her eyes at Arizona's statement; she was feeling so conflicted right now. She was happy that Arizona was safe, but she had also been so hurt when Arizona had practically forced her out of her life and never looked back…as if all their years of friendship hadn't mattered…as if everything they had been through had been nothing in the blonde's eyes.

"Teddy?" Arizona nervously asked as her friend hadn't answered her.

"I have a boyfriend." Teddy awkwardly blurted out.

"What?" Arizona asked with a hint of confusion. _Here she was pouring her heart out to Teddy and the Cardio Surgeon wanted to talk about her love life?_

"I have a boyfriend and he's really hot…like…reeealllllly hot…and we've been dating for seven months…and he plays baseball…and he's absolutely perfect…and every time something exciting or new happened in our relationship…I would…I would want to run home and pick up my phone to call you…I just had to tell my best friend you know?"

"Except for I couldn't…I couldn't because I didn't have a best friend anymore…" Teddy trailed off as her voice crack.

"So, I would have to wind up telling Yang the next day…Cristina Yang…for God's sakes…do you know what that does to a person?" She angrily asked.

"Teddy…I'm so sorry…I didn't…" Arizona cried as she tried to apologize, her nightmare was coming true…Teddy didn't want anything to do her.

Teddy cut the other blonde off, "And…so I was mad at you…and I swore up and down that if you _ever_ tried to contact me again…I would just…I would pretend like you didn't exist…just like you did to me…because I was hurt."

"Teddy please?" Arizona sadly cried out.

Teddy's voice softened, "But as soon as I heard your voice…I just wanted to run to wherever you were and hug you...and…" Teddy let out a whimpered cry, this causing Arizona to let one out as well.

"And tell you that I have a really hot boyfriend." Teddy sniffled.

Even though she was still crying, when she heard Teddy's statement, Arizona couldn't help the smile that took over her face.

"So, he's really hot huh?" She asked in a quiet voice.

Teddy chuckled slightly, "Yeah…he is."

"I've missed you Arizona." She quietly admitted.

"I've missed you too Teds."

"And for the record…you Arizona Robbins, will always be my best friend…and the next time you decide that you don't want to be…I will kick your ass."

Arizona sniffled slightly, a small grin tugging at her lips, "Deal."

The two friends talked a while longer, Teddy stating that she would call Arizona as soon as she got out of work the next day so that they could meet up.

Arizona got off the phone with Teddy and decided to call her parents. She didn't want to get into details with them tonight, she wanted to try to get them to come out to Seattle and visit. She needed to talk to them in person. She knew that they would be worried and her mother would understand her situation and her reasoning behind certain things, but her father was a completely different story.

The first time they suspected that Renee was being abusive towards her; Daniel Robbins had proposed she and Emma move back home with them, when Arizona didn't budge he wanted to take Emma away from her. She knew that it was for Emma's safety, and that she had been selfish by keeping her…but Tim and Grace had chosen her…and she was a good aunt, until Renee came along that is. So she decided to selfishly lie to her parents and tell them that she was no longer with Renee, she couldn't lose her niece...she couldn't let Tim down.

_Except for she did let him down. How could she have been so stupid to allow Renee to cloud her judgment and control her? How could she have put Emma's life in danger?_

She supposed that almost dying, coupled with receiving the heart transplant, then having to deal with survivor's guilt over it, accepting Tim and Grace's death, and then becoming a caretaker for Emma practically overnight while she was still struggling with her own issues...had all just been too much.

Then Renee came along and made her feel special…and wanted…until she just didn't make her feel like that anymore.

Renee had made Arizona Robbins…the 'Good Man in a Storm'…disappear into the abyss.

She was no longer safe during the storm; she was no longer safely planted in the eye of the hurricane. No, she had been overtaken by the storm winds and blown away.

She was no longer who her father had raised her to be…and by the time she had realized it…she was already in way too deep with Renee and didn't know how to get herself out.

"Hello?" Barbara Robbins answered her house phone.

"Mom."

"Arizona Robbins, where the heck have you been? Your father and I have been worried sick…going crazy calling your phone and trying to get a hold of you. We couldn't leave any messages, your voicemail is full…we tried looking up the number to that hospital that you _supposedly_ work at…but they have never heard of an Arizona Robbins on their staff..and quite frankly…"

Arizona closed her eyes as she heard mother go on and on, "Mom…mom…MOM!"

At the sound of her daughter yelling at her, Barbara quickly quieted down.

"Are you and Emma alright?" The older woman asked, her original concern for her daughter and granddaughter shining through.

"Yes…we…we're okay."

"That's good…that's…it's good to hear that you are both okay." Barbara let out a relieved sigh.

"I um…I have to tell you something, but please promise not to get mad at me?" Arizona asked with trepidation as she bit her lip.

"I will do no such thing young lady. You had as worried half to death…you are in no position to be asking for favors Arizona Robbins…especially because I think I know where this is leading."

Arizona let out a worried sigh. _What did her mother mean by she knew where this might be leading? Did they know about Renee? They had never alluded to that fact before._

"Mom, please? I have to talk with you and dad…in person…do you think you could come out to Seattle?"

"Talk about what?" Daniel Robbins' brusque voice came over the line as he had picked the other phone in the kitchen.

Arizona rolled her eyes, "Dad, please…could you both just come out to Seattle? I have a lot of things that I need to discuss and I can't do it over the phone…please? I have to…I need your help. I could really use my parents at a time like this." The young blonde's voice cracking as tears started slowly tracking down her cheeks.

At the sound of Arizona crying, both Daniel and Barbara worriedly looked over at each other.

"We will look into booking a flight sweetheart. We really want to see you and Emma…we've been worried sick Arizona." Barbara tenderly stated.

"I know…I'm sorry mom. I really screwed up some things and…" Arizona continued to cry.

"Whatever it is…we will handle it together as a family." Daniel assured his daughter.

"Thanks dad." Arizona whimpered into the phone.

"We will call you back once we get our flight scheduled. Do we call you back at your old cell phone number?" Daniel asked.

"Ummm…I'll have it with me tomorrow…so you can call me then. I will keep it with me from now on…I promise."

"And you're sure you and Emma are okay?" He doubled check.

"Yes…we are…I swear."

"Okay, we'll call you tomorrow."

"We love you sweetheart…and we will see you soon." Barbara lovingly stated before she and Daniel hung up.

"Okay, I love you too."

"We'll work everything out Arizona...don't worry." Her dad quickly added.

Arizona knew that that was as close to an 'I love you' as Daniel Robbins would ever get, and it brought a smile to her face knowing that her parents would be here soon and that she could count on their support.

As they hung up the phone, Daniel and Barbara shared a knowing look. Daniel didn't exchange any words with his wife as he walked towards their bedroom.

Once finishing up her emotional phone calls, Arizona went in search of Callie. As Arizona stepped out into the living room she didn't see the brunette, but it looked like Callie had locked up and set the alarm for the night. The blonde decided to go upstairs and try to hunt down the beautiful woman.

As she walked up to Callie's bedroom, the sight before her melted her heart. Callie was in the middle of the bed, her head uncomfortably lying against the headboard. Emma and Sofia were on either side of her, hugging her by her midsection, and all three of them were completely knocked out.

The blonde slipped off her shoes and tiptoed into the room, she slowly eased herself onto the bed and hugged Emma and Callie from behind.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Callie's asked in a sleep latent voice.

Arizona smiled as brown eyes slowly started to flutter open and meet her own, "It was…good."

Callie smiled back at Arizona, "I'm glad."

Arizona nodded at Callie's response.

"So, uh…how did this happen?" The blonde teasingly grinned as she pointed to a sleeping Emma and Sofia.

Callie chuckled, "Apparently, my daughter remembered that 'I forgot' to sing to her tonight. So, she thought that not only would it be a good idea to wake up and tell me that, but she also decided that she should wake up a very sleep Emma to remind me as well…let's just say Miss Emma was not happy about that."

Arizona giggled at Callie's pained expression.

"Emma's does not like to be woken up…she's a little grouch."

"I can definitely relate." Callie smiled at Arizona.

"Not a morning person are we ?"

"No, I hate them." Callie chuckled to herself as she thought about all the times her wife would make fun of her for that very same reason.

"What's so funny?" Arizona asked with a hint of amusement.

At Arizona's question, the blonde noticed how Callie instinctively brought her hand up to nervously fiddle with the wedding band that hung on her necklace.

As Callie noticed blue eyes staring down at her neck, the brunette quickly removed her hand

"Nothing…I just…I'm not a morning person is all." She awkwardly cleared her throat.

Arizona slowly nodded her head up and down at Callie's answer. She knew the brunette was probably thinking about Melissa.

All of a sudden a heavy weight began to press on Arizona's chest and she couldn't breathe. She had to tell Callie the truth.

As Callie noticed Arizona struggling to breathe, she quickly became worried.

"Are you alright?" She asked as she readjusted herself and the two sleeping little girls that lay next to her.

"I…I hhhhaaa…had a…hhheeeaarrrtt…" Arizona trailed off as she struggled to catch her breath.

Callie quickly made her way closer to Arizona and turned her around. She hugged the blonde from behind as it seemed that Arizona was starting to have a panic attack.

"Breathe with me…slowly…in and out…in and out…" Callie pressed her chest tightly against Arizona's back; she was trying to make the blonde fall in sync with her own breathing pattern.

After a few minutes Arizona's breathing started to calm down as she took slow even breaths, she mimicked Callie's breathing until her own breathing finally returned back to normal.

"You okay?" Callie tenderly asked in a soft whisper, her lips gently pressing against the back of Arizona's neck.

Arizona nodded her head and closed her eyes at the contact. The burden of lying to Callie was starting to weigh heavily on her. She knew that every day that went by was one more day that she was lying to Callie about Melissa's heart, but every time Callie did something that reminded her of Melissa…the brunette would get that sad look in her eyes…and Arizona would convince herself more and more that it wasn't the right time to tell her the truth just yet.

Besides, it had really only been two days since she found out herself…she needed time to get her own head wrapped around the idea…then she would tell Callie.

"I'm okay." Arizona quietly answered as Callie gently massaged her shoulders.

"Okay…why don't we just try to get some rest?" Callie suggested as she placed another soft kiss on Arizona's exposed neck.

She figured that Arizona had had a rough day, with finally telling her the truth about herself and her abusive girlfriend…and then calling her best friend and her parents…that's probably what had caused the blonde to have her panic attack.

"Yeah." Arizona nodded as she turned around in Callie's arms, the brunette instantly wrapping her up in the safety of her arms.

Arizona buried her face into Callie's chest, as she inhaled the unique scent that was all Callie...and that drove her crazy, her mind and body begin to relax.

They stayed hugging a while longer; eventually they settled underneath the covers with the girls as sleep overtook both of them.

The next morning Callie was woken up to the weight of her daughter on her chest.

"MORNING MAMI!" Sofia excitedly yelled.

Callie chuckled as she brought her index finger up to her lips, "Shhh…we have to be very quiet…people are sleeping." Callie whispered as she pointed her head in the direction of Emma and Arizona.

"Oops." Sofia whispered back as she brought her little hand up to cover her mouth, the genuine embarrassment on her daughter's face causing Callie to smile.

"Mami…is today a school and work day?" Sofia asked as she continued to whisper.

"Yes…let's get up and get ready, but first give me my kisses." Callie winked at her daughter as Sofia peppered her face with kisses, eventually both of them getting up to start getting ready for the day.

As Callie walked out of her room, she couldn't help but smile when she looked back at Emma and Arizona peacefully sleeping. Callie decided right then and there that this was a sight that she could get used to waking up to every morning.

They made it to Sofia's room and Callie was just finishing up with her daughter. She grabbed the brush, hairspray, and two hair ties from Sofia's drawer.

"I don't want it up in a bun." Sofia warned as she put up her hand to halt her mother from getting close to her head.

"Sofia…do not start." Callie warned, it was the same argument every morning.

"I don't want it in a bun." The little girl whined.

"Sof…I don't like it loose at daycare."

"Why not?"

"Because…I don't know what other little kids have in their hair and I don't need it sticking to yours." Callie stated as she sat on the bed and brought Sofia to stand in between her legs to start brushing her hair.

"Like lice?" Sofia knowingly asked.

"Yes…like lice." Callie chuckled, her daughter was too smart for her own good.

Once the daily morning hair crisis had been resolved, the pair made their way downstairs so Sofia could have breakfast.

"What do you want to eat slick?" Callie asked.

"Ummm…yogurt smoothie and apple slices."

Callie got out a smoothie and some apple slices and carried them upstairs with her, Sofia following close behind. Callie turned on the TV in Sofia's room to some cartoon show and set Sofia up at her desk to eat her breakfast.

"Are you going to eat?" Sofia asked her mom.

"No baby…I still have to get ready…"

"And you want to eat with Arizona…Ooo La La." Sofia wiggled her eyebrows.

Callie chuckled and incredulously shook her head from side to side, "Yes…Miss Ooo La La."

Sofia giggled as her mami mimicked her words from earlier.

Callie kissed the top of her daughter's head and headed back to her room to get some clothes. She decided she would shower in the guest bathroom as to not disturb the two sleeping blondes that were still in her room.

"Morning." A grumpy Emma stated as she sluggishly walked into Sofia's room.

"Morning." Sofia happily replied.

"Want some?" Sofia smiled as she stuck out her hand and offered Emma some of her apple slices, Emma shaking her head no and then plopping down on Sofia's bed.

Arizona giggled as her niece closed her eyes and threw herself back onto the mattress, she was trying to go back to sleep yet again. Sofia furrowed her eyebrows temporarily at her friend and then went back to watching her cartoon.

"Uh…do you know where your mami is at?" Arizona asked the little girl.

Sofia nodded, "Guest bathroom." Was the muffled reply as she had an apple slice in her mouth.

Callie had been standing in front of the bathroom sink staring at her reflection in the mirror for the last ten minutes, actually more specifically...she was staring at her necklace...and the ring that had been hanging on it for the last four years.

She slowly lifted up the wedding band, her eyes darting down to the small black jewelry box that sat on the cream colored marble vanity top.

She blew out a frustrated breath and let go of the ring, it softly fell back into place…where it belonged.

_She couldn't take it off…why couldn't she take it off? But she couldn't keep wearing it…not around Arizona…not when her feelings for the blonde were growing stronger every day._

The brunette took in another deep breath and decisively unclasped the back of her necklace, she gently brought the ring out from around it and cupped the band in her hand. She put the necklace down to the side and picked up the jewelry box.

She stared at it for what seemed like hours, it was open…it was ready for her to just put the ring inside.

"Dammit…just put the ring in the box Callie." She angrily argued with herself.

"It's just a ring." Her voice cracked and the tears that she was trying to hold back slowly made their way down her cheeks.

Because it wasn't just a ring, it was a symbol of the love and commitment that she had made to the woman she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with…and because of her stupid late night craving…her wife was…

"Callie, I was just…"

As Arizona's voice startled Callie, the brunette jumped in the air and the ring slipped out of her hand and into the sink.

As she heard the metal object clinking against the sink it caused her to panic. She desperately reached for the band, she almost got of hold of it, but it had gotten wet in the recently used sink and slipped from her grip.

"Oh GOD…" Callie desperately stated as she watched the ring go down the drain.

"No…no, no, no…dammit!" The brunette cried as her tears were now coming full force, Callie brought her hands up to muffle her sobs and cover her face.

Arizona walked closer to Callie, she didn't know what was going on…but as soon as she noticed the discarded ring box and Callie's necklace on the countertop she quickly realized the brunette had dropped her wedding band down the drain…or more specifically she had startled Callie, which had caused her to lose the ring.

Arizona hugged Callie tightly, the brunette sobbing loudly into the crook of Arizona's neck.

"Calliope, I'm so sorry."

"I lost her ring. How could I be so careless? How could I lose her ring?" Callie continued to cry into Arizona's neck.

Arizona closed her eyes as she realized the wedding ring had been Melissa's, not Callie's.

Arizona continued to comfort Callie, the brunette eventually calming down. Callie pulled back from their hug, she had dried tear stains on her cheeks, the brim of her eyes and nose were red, and she was still sniffling slightly.

"I'm sorry." The brunette embarrassedly whispered.

"I can get it out." Arizona offered.

Callie furrowed her eyebrows, "I thought it went like to the city pipes or something…you know like the sewer."

Arizona giggled, "Clearly you aren't the most handy around the house." She teased. She felt she needed to lighten the mood, Callie however remained quiet.

"It eventually does wind up there…but...usually if you turn the water off…it'll stay stuck in the pipe."

Callie watched as Arizona reached behind the toilet and turned off the water valve behind it, the blonde then looked underneath the vanity. She asked Callie for some tools, the brunette had no clue…but they were able to find some in her garage.

"Here you go." Arizona held the ring in between her index finger and her thumb as she handed it to Callie.

Callie's megawatt smile taking over her features as she took back the ring from Arizona, it had dirt and grime from the pipes…but she didn't care, especially since she had thought she had lost it forever.

"Thank you." She stated in a hushed whisper.

"You're welcome." Arizona gave the brunette a small smile.

She watched as Callie cleaned the ring off. She could tell the brunette was being extra careful this time so that the ring wouldn't get lost again.

"Why'd you take it off?" Arizona curiously inquired in a hushed whisper.

Callie halted her movements, she slowly turned to face Arizona…the guilty expression on her face breaking Arizona's heart.

"It's complicated." She swallowed thickly.

Arizona nodded in understanding.

"I…I really like you…like...a lot…but I can't help but feel like…" _Like I'm being unfaithful to my wife. _Callie thought to herself.

"I just don't think I should keep wearing it." She sadly whispered.

"These say otherwise." Arizona tenderly stated as she brought her hands up to dry the fresh tears on Callie's cheeks.

"I'm sorry." Callie felt the need to apologize.

Arizona smiled at the brunette as she took the ring from Callie's hand; she looped it back through the discarded necklace and made her way to stand behind Callie.

Both women caught sight of each other's gazes in the mirror; the blonde slowly brought the necklace up and around Callie's neck and fastened. She moved her hand to the front of Callie's neck and made sure adjust the ring.

"There…perfect." She smiled at Callie through the mirror as she pulled her in for a hug.

Callie's back was touching Arizona's front, the blonde was gently resting her chin on Callie's shoulders, her arms gently wrapped around Callie's neck. Their eyes never once breaking their stares in the mirror.

"Thanks." Callie stated, the knot in her throat not allowing her to speak very many words.

Arizona lovingly smiled at Callie.

"I will be ready one day…to take it off…I will…I promise." The brunette sadly whispered.

"I know." Arizona nodded.

The two women shared a sad smile as Callie brought her hands up to meet Arizona's…both women closing their eyes at the comforting touch.

They stayed like that a while longer until eventually Callie had to head out to work. They had dropped off Sofia at the hotel's employee daycare center and now they found themselves at Arizona's hotel room door.

Arizona was carrying a sleeping Emma in her arms.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Callie asked.

Arizona chuckled, "Well, you're running late…so no breakfast for you." She teased.

"I'm the boss…I can totally eat breakfast all day long if I wanted to."

Arizona rolled her eyes, "Yeah…well…you will be doing that alone in your office today. I am a very busy woman…places to go…people to see."

Callie chuckled, "You excited about seeing your friend?"

Arizona nodded, a dimpled smile taking over her features instantly at the thought of getting to see Teddy today.

"Alright, well…I guess…I'll be in my office…sad…and alone…starving to death." The brunette playfully pouted.

Arizona giggled at Callie's antics, "How about this…I have to wake Emma up, run an errand at the pharmacy, and call to double check what time Teddy will get here…but I can meet you for lunch."

"I was teasing. I know you have a lot to do to get ready to see your friend, but…if you could surprise me with a lunch date…that would be perfect. Any time I get to spend with you is always a win win." Callie winked at the blonde.

Arizona and Callie shared a smile as the brunette leaned and gave Arizona a small goodbye peck on the lips. She made her way to the elevator, every once in a while looking back and stealing a flirty glance from Arizona.

Arizona had finally been able to wake Emma up, she got some food into their stomachs and then they both took showers and got ready for the day. They were currently walking hand and hand towards the pharmacy, Arizona hoping that the money she had set aside for her medications would be enough.

Arizona was lost in her thoughts as she continued their walk, she was so excited at the prospect of getting to see Teddy today.

That thought lead to more thoughts flooding her mind.

She knew the Renee issue would be handled soon by Callie, the brunette said she would be calling her lawyers today. Once Renee was safely away and out of her life, Arizona knew it would only be a matter of time before she would get back on her feet. And with the support of Callie, Teddy, and her parents…she knew she was going to be okay.

Also, she needed to see if she could somehow talk with Chief Webber and get her old job back, her career identified her...it was part of what made her Arizona Robbins. She knew that getting back her job would give her self-worth and validality...and money, more importantly money.

She needed to get a place that she and Emma could call home, she needed transportation, new clothes...she needed a lot of things. And she wanted to pay Callie back, she knew the brunette would never accept it...but she owed Callie so much.

Her thoughts went back to Teddy, she missed the blonde's friendship…she wanted to tell Teddy so many things, including the whole 'Callie's wife's heart is beating in my chest thing'…maybe her best friend could help her out with ideas of how she could break the news to Callie.

At that thought Arizona took in a heavy sigh, she was getting ahead of herself. First things first…she would apologize to Teddy…over and over again, for pushing her out of her life. Then she would get the blonde's opinion as to what she should do about Callie and Melissa...she was glad that she would at least have somebody to tell her secret to.

"Aunty Zona?"

"Hmmm?" Arizona was pulled away from her thoughts when she heard Emma's voice.

"Am I going to get to see Teddy too?"

Arizona smiled down at Emma, "Yup…she'll be over this afternoon…like around dinnertime."

Emma smiled brightly, she loved Teddy and she missed her.

"And grandma and grandpa are coming?"

Arizona chuckled, she had told Emma all of this in morning, but now her niece kept making sure.

"Yup…they'll be calling today to let us know when."

"Can I talk to them?"

Arizona nodded.

"Do you want me to keep our secret still?" Emma asked, this causing Arizona to stop dead in her tracks.

She kneeled down in front of Emma, "Emma…I was…I was wrong to tell you to not tell grandma and grandpa the secret about Renee."

Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion; her aunt would always make such a big deal about it when she would talk with them.

Arizona sighed, "Let's make a new deal okay?"

"Okay."

"No more secrets…we won't keep any secrets from grandma, or grandpa…or Teddy...okay?"

"How about Callie and Sofia?"

"Nope…we won't keep secrets from them either. Okay?" Arizona brought up her pinky.

Emma smiled and brought up her little pinky also, she wrapped it around her aunt's and they both sealed their new deal with a kiss to the top of their fingers.

Aunt and niece shared a knowing smile, as they finished their walk to the pharmacy.

"I'm here to pick up my prescription." Arizona stated as she walked up to the pharmacy counter.

"Okay, did we give you a call to let you know it was ready?" The young woman behind the counter asked.

Arizona apologetically looked back at the girl, "I'm sorry…I'm not sure. I've had my cell phone turned off, and my voicemail was full."

"No problem, I'll just check. What's your name."

"Arizona Robbins."

After the young woman checked the computer, she asked Arizona for her ID as per the privacy note that was on record.

"Here you are Dr. Robbins."

"Thank you." Arizona smiled as she handed the young woman the money to pay for her prescriptions.

"Oh, looks like we did try to call your phone…the computer shows that it defaulted to your house number once it couldn't leave a voicemail on your cell." The young woman made conversation as she handed Arizona her change, the receipt, and the bag with the prescriptions.

At the woman's admission, Arizona's eyes went wide as she nervously looked around the pharmacy. If Renee was home she would have heard the message…or maybe even picked up.

_Dammit…how could she be so careless? She forgot to update the phone number so that it could be deleted the last time she was here_.

Arizona snatched the bag from the woman's hands and grabbed Emma's as she hurriedly made her way out of the store, her eyes darting around every corner as she tried to make it back to the safety of her hotel room.

"Aunty Zona…you're going too fast." Emma whined, her aunt was pulling her along. The little girl's arm, hand and legs hurt because of it.

"I'm sorry…but we have to hurry up." Arizona stated in a shaky voice.

Emma worriedly furrowed her eyebrows; her aunt was acting like she use to when Renee would be getting home.

They had just entered the hotel lobby, Arizona letting up on Emma's hand slightly, a small glimmer of relief overtaking the blonde as she was back inside of the hotel.

She hurriedly pushed her and Emma passed the crowd gathered at the front entrance of the hotel lobby and towards the elevators.

She nervously pushed the button to call the elevator several times…as if the excessive pushing would somehow make it arrive faster.

Once she heard the ding and the doors slid open, she and Emma stepped inside. She pushed the button for the very top floor and watched as the doors started to close.

"Hold the elevator." A voice called out as the person stuck her hand through the small crack of the already closing doors.

At the sound of the familiar voice, Arizona's body froze with fear.

"Wow honey…you don't seem too happy to see me. I gotta say…I'm a little hurt Arizona." Renee angrily glared at Arizona as the elevator doors closed behind her, effectively trapping Emma and Arizona alone with her.

**A/N: I know...I know...I'm such a punk for the mean cliffhanger, but there is a method to my madness. I know some of you have expressed not wanting to see the violent parts, and we all know Renee is super drunk, and super angry as she's been stewing on that anger since Arizona left...so she will definitely want to make sure Arizona is aware of that. **

**I had originally said that I would contain the abuse in this story to chapter 2, but I had to bring back McCray Cray so that she could be gone for good. So, that being said...I didn't add any violence to this chapter, and next chapter I will try to write it at the very top...with bold lettering, in case some of you choose to skip it.**

**Let me know your thoughts, or anything you want to see in the upcoming chapter(s).**

**Thanks...XOXO**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Grey's Anatomy character(s) and/or settings portrayed in this story, as well as any other outside material mentioned. This story is for entertainment purposes only.**

**A/N: Thank you so, so much for all of the reviews, favorites and followers. I know I left the last chapter on a bit of a cliffhanger...but I wanted to make sure that if anybody wanted to skip the violent parts they could. This chapter has them in italics and in bold lettering. **

**That being said, Beckabby and one of the other Guests (who wrote their review as Guest) had some birthday's recently. So, HAPPY B-DAY! I'm sorry that I couldn't update in time for your b-day's, but hopefully this chapter makes up for it. A lot of B-day's this month...my favorite aunt will be 60 in a few days...she is wheelchair bound and her old doctor told her she wouldn't make it past 23, he apparently was way off...and I couldn't be happier...I love that woman to pieces.**

**Also, tamarah86 asked for a double update for Valentine's Day...you know what they say, "Ask and you shall receive." ...so here is part one of a second update that will follow between either Thursday or Friday.**

**To everybody else who reviews, you guys are awesome...and I wish I could give you all a shout, but just know that I do read each and every one of your reviews and pay attention to everything. And if you ever have questions or want to discuss the storyline, you could always PM me...I'm pretty good about getting back to everyone who has so far. Speaking of PM's - somebody PM'd me their e-mail address but it didn't show up on the PM, so just check your inbox and double check before you PM me it again. **

**I really appreciate you guys taking the time to review, favorite and follow...as a writer I write because I like it, and as readers...you read because you like it...but the positive feedback always serves as a bit of a push to keep going...so thank you so much!**

Callie had just gotten off the phone with her lawyer; she had been explaining Arizona's case to him. He said that it wouldn't be a problem to file the protection order and bring charges against Renee. He did however need to meet with Arizona for personal data and to get the paperwork filed with the court. She also had to go and make an official statement and file a police report down at the station. Callie set up a tentative appointment with him for tomorrow so they could get the ball rolling, she would just have to double check with Arizona.

"Hey Callie." Andrea greeted as she sat down at the brunette's desk with her lunch.

Callie raised an expectant eyebrow towards Andrea.

"What? We never have lunch together anymore…I feel our employee/employer relationship is suffering." The young woman shrugged and took a bite from her sandwich.

Callie rolled her eyes and went back to looking at her computer; Andrea didn't budge as she kept happily eating her lunch.

_**Once the elevator doors closed behind Renee, Arizona stiffened in fear. It was almost automatic when Renee was in her presence. The blonde tightly brought Emma closer to her own body as she could feel her niece trembling; Emma clutched onto Arizona's right leg and looked on with fearful eyes.**_

"_**What? Did you think I wouldn't find you?" Renee asked, her tone sounding eerily calm.**_

_**Arizona remained quiet as she cautiously watched all of Renee's movements, the raven haired woman moving closer to the right side of the elevator.**_

_**Renee leaned back against the elevator wall as she turned her body to look at the button panel, she noticed that the button for the last floor was lit up.**_

_**"Top floor…nice. So, what'd you do? Call your little friend Teddy…and she came running to your rescue…got her bestie the best room available." **_

_**Arizona swallowed thickly, "You're drunk." Was her reply, her voice coming out surprisingly strong.**_

"_**Ding…ding…ding…It's a good thing you're a surgeon. I may have not figured that one out on my own doc." Renee mocked.**_

_**Arizona sadly shook her head from side to side.**_

_**At the sad look Arizona was giving her, Renee instantly felt bad...she hadn't cone here for this. She was trying to show Arizona she had changed.**_

"_**Look…" Renee stated in a soft voice as she reached for Arizona's arm, the blonde instinctively recoiling at the touch.**_

_**Renee stared wide eyed at Arizona as temporarily halted her movements and brought both of her hands up slowly in surrender, "I didn't come here to hurt you Arizona. I just…I want you to come home. We…we'll talk…and I can try to be better." The raven haired woman's voice cracked.**_

_**Tears started to roll down Arizona's cheeks, **_"_**That's what you always say." Arizona stated in a low voice, as she huddled her body closer to the wall. She knew she was pushing her limits with Renee, but somewhere deep inside Arizona did care for Renee...even though Renee always hurt her...Arizona had loved her at one time.**_

_**As her aunt and Renee continued to talk, Emma's tears started to fall more rapidly…it sounded like her aunt was going to give in yet again.**_

"_**I mean it this time baby. I'll be better…I will...I promise." Renee reached her hand and gently stroked Arizona's arm, the blonde slightly flinching at the touch.**_

_**As Renee touched her, Arizona felt sick to her stomach…the fear that overtook her body was such a contrast to when Callie's strong yet gentle hands would make her feel so safe and alive. **_

"_**Are you saying that because you mean it? Or because the cameras in this elevator won't let you hit me?" Arizona sadly asked.**_

_**Renee looked hurt by Arizona's comment, but quickly recovered as to not show any weakness. She**__** started to laugh as she took her hand back and leaned back against the elevator wall yet again, "Apparently your week away allowed you to grow some balls…that's good honey…I like it when you're feisty." She winked at the blonde.**_

_**"Now** **d****on't you dare piss me off Arizona…you're already in enough trouble. We're going to get off of this elevator…we're going to get your stuff…and you're coming home." Renee crossed her arms and warningly looked at her.**_

_****__**Arizona nervously swallowed as Renee's angry eyes met her own.**_

"_**Understood?" She asked.**_

_**Arizona didn't answer and as the elevator dinged she made no effort to walk out.**_

"_**Get off." Renee demanded through gritted teeth as she angrily pointed to the opened doors.**_

"_**You can't touch me while I'm in here." Arizona boldly defied the other woman as she stood her ground, her voice however betrayed her as you could clearly hear how scared she was.**_

_**Renee grinned as she stepped closer and brought the blonde in for a 'hug', Arizona struggling against it. **_

_**Emma moved towards the corner of the elevator and away from Renee, Renee tightly squeezed Arizona as the blonde continued to fight against her strong hold.**_

"_**Stop…Emma's watching…you don't want to make a scene." Renee knowingly whispered in Arizona's ear, the blonde stopped her struggling instantly at the mention of her niece.**_

"_**Now…get your shit…and let's go." She harshly whispered in Arizona's ear as she roughly grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of the elevator.**_

"_**Which room?" She asked as they walked down the hall.**_

_**Arizona only whimpered at the question and Renee's hold became more forceful as she angrily shook the blonde.**_

"_**WHICH ROOM?" She yelled in frustration...Arizona was pissing her off.**_

_**Arizona pointed to her room and nervously fumbled around for her keycard, Renee angrily snatching it from her hands. Emma nervously followed behind as tears fell from her eyes.**_

_**Once inside the room Renee harshly shoved Arizona towards the bedroom.**_

"_**Aunty Zooonnnaaaa…" Emma cried as she followed her aunt and Renee. **_

_**The little girl nervously bringing up her hands to her mouth to try to muffle her sobs, Renee didn't like it when she was a cry baby.**_

"_**It's okay Emma…just wait outside and watch some TV." Arizona tried to comfort her niece as she called back towards Emma, Renee was still pushing her forward.**_

_**Arizona looked at Renee pleadingly so she could let her deal with Emma, the other woman warningly looked at blonde, letting her know to get Emma under control, but none the less she let go of Arizona's arm.**_

_**As Renee let go, Arizona walked over towards her niece and hugged her.**_

"_**It's okay honey." She whispered in Emma's ear as the little girl continued to cry and tried to hold back choked sobs.**_

"_**Please aunty Zoonnnaaa….pppllleeaaasseee…yyyooouuu ppprrooommiisseeddd." Emma sobbed loudly.**_

"_**I know honey…it's okay…everything is going to be fine." Arizona whispered in Emma's ear yet again as she soothingly ran a hand through her niece's hair.**_

_**Renee rolled her eyes, "Emma…go wait outside…we'll be going home soon." She stated as she pointed towards the hotel suite's living room.**_

_**Emma continued to cry but did as she was told and walked out of the room, she shared one last sad glance with her aunt until Renee slammed the door shut and she could no longer see either of them.**_

_**Emma covered her ears as the yelling started right away, "Mmmm…please stop…please stop…please stop…mmm…" She quietly cried to herself.**_

"_**Pack your stuff." Renee stated as she reached for the empty suitcase on the ground and tossed it on the bed.**_

_**Arizona shook her head from side to side in disbelief; Renee hadn't even noticed that she hadn't taken anything with her. The suitcase was the one that Callie had packed with Aria's clothes for her the day before…and this morning Arizona had unpacked it before heading out to run her errands.**_

"_**I'm not going anywhere with you." She defiantly stated as she crossed her arms, although she was shaking like a leaf on the inside. **_

_**But she had promised Emma, and she was going to fight like hell to keep that promise…she owed it to Emma…and she owed it to herself.**_

_**Renee lifted her hand in the air, Arizona automatically closing her eyes in fear and waiting for the blow to come…but it never did. **_

_**At the sight of Arizona cowering in fear, Renee halted her movements.**_

"_**Dammit Arizona!" Renee exasperatedly stated as she held back her open hand in midair.**_

_**Arizona slowly opened her eyes and looked on as Renee brought her hand down and anxiously ran it through her raven locks; she had a crazy look in her eyes. **_

"_**I'm trying to keep my cool Arizona."**_

"_**You needed some time…I get that. I…I've been…thinking about us you know? I love you Arizona...and I don't like hitting you…do you think I like hitting the person I love?" Renee asked as her voice cracked with emotion yet again.**_

"_**But you…you make it so difficult baby." Renee stated as she tried to calm herself down, she held her arms at her sides and was opening and closing her fists.**_

_**Arizona warily looked on as tears started to fall from her eyes, she knew that in some sick way Renee actually thought that this was love.**_

"_**I don't want to hurt you okay? Now…just pack your stuff so we can go." The raven haired woman calmly stated as she pointed to the empty suitcase.**_

"_**Nnnn…no!" Arizona nervously stuttered out.**_

_**And that was it…**_

"_**Pack…your…FUCKING STUFF!" Renee angrily yelled as she rushed Arizona, she roughly grabbed her by her hair and shoved her onto the bed.**_

"_**FUCK YOU!" Arizona yelled as she angrily wrapped her arms around Renee and brought her down with her, both women starting to throw hits and punches wherever they landed.**_

"_**Are you crazy? Huh?" Renee angrily asked as she pinned the blonde down with her own body as she sat on top of her.**_

_**Renee's right hand was roughly holding Arizona's face, and her left arm was harshly pushing across Arizona's chest and neck. **_

_**"Huh? What's the matter with you?"**_

_**Arizona was heavily breathing from the tussle, and her chest hurt…she was struggling to catch her breath. She was looking up at Renee with fearful eyes…the raven haired woman seemed beyond pissed…and if looks could kill Arizona would be dead right now. **_

_**The way Renee was staring back at her and holding her let Arizona know she was about to be in for a good beating.**_

"_**Don't you EVER…try to fight back." She menacingly glared at the blonde as she removed her hold on the blonde's face and loosened her belt.**_

"_**You got that?"**_

_**Arizona let out a whimpered cry and closed her eyes.**_

"_**DID YOU HEAR ME YOU STUPID BITCH?" She pressed down roughly on Arizona's chest.**_

"_**Yes." Was the meek reply from Arizona as she started to cry…her chest was on fire.**_

_**Renee angrily dragged her from the bed onto the floor, the blonde trying to get away...but the first angry slap of her belt soon followed and connected with her body.**_

Emma stood in the middle of the living room crying, she could her aunt begging Renee to please stop. The little girl remembered that her aunt said there would be no more secrets…so she knew she wouldn't get in trouble if she went and found Callie to tell her the truth.

Although she was sobbing like crazy, Emma ran out of the suite and towards the elevators. She pushed the call button and waited for the elevator to arrive; as soon as it did she stepped in and pressed the letter L, that's the one that they always pushed to go downstairs.

"Did you see that?" One of the hotel security guards pointed to the camera screen, there was a little girl all by herself and she looked like she was crying.

"That's that little girl that's always with Callie." Henry, the senior security guard, stated.

"Not too long ago…it was her and the blonde that's always with them too…but there was some other lady…they were pretty quiet but…"

"Something seemed off?" Henry knowingly finished off.

"Yeah." Kyle worriedly looked at his supervisor.

"Call the front desk…tell them to let Callie know. I don't want to go up there and cause a scene or call the cops if it's a false alarm. Callie doesn't like to worry the hotel's guests if it's not necessary." Henry ordered, Kyle nodded and picked up the phone.

Andrea had finished off her lunch in Callie's office and was now making her way back towards the front desk, the young woman's attention being drawn when she heard a child sobbing loudly.

"IIII…nnneeeeddddd…CCC…CCCaaallllliiieeee…mmmm…pppllleeeaasseeee?" Emma hysterically cried as she stood in the middle of the main lobby and tried to grab anybody's attention.

Andrea quickly ran over and picked Emma up.

"Nnnnoooo…nnnnoooo." Emma tried to fight off the stranger, she needed Callie.

"Hey…hey…it's me…remember me? I'm Callie's friend…you met me when you first came here." Andrea gently stated as she brushed backed Emma's hair, the little girl's face was completely wet with tears.

Emma continued to cry, but realized that the woman was indeed Callie's friend, "III…nnneeedd…CCCaalliieee…pppllleeasssee?"

Andrea nodded and hurriedly made her way back towards her boss' office.

As Callie heard loud crying coming from the hall, she abruptly stood up from her desk. As she tried to make her way from around her desk, her phone started ringing…she decided to ignore it as the cries got louder and closer.

"Callie…" Andrea desperately stated as she literally bumped into the brunette who had already been making her way out of her office.

"Emma?" Callie worriedly asked.

"Ppplleeassseee…pppllleeasssseee…hhhh…hhheeelllppp…aaunnttyyy…Zzzoonnnaaa…" Emma pleaded in between choked sobs as she reached out for Callie to carry her.

"Emma, what's going on? Where's your aunt?" Callie worriedly asked as she took the distraught little girl in her arms.

"RRR…Rrreeeneeee's…hhh…hhheereee…ssshhheee'sss…gggooinng..ttooo…hhh…hhhurrttt hhheerr…lll…llliikkkeee…aalllwaaayysss…"

Callie's eyes went wide when she made out what Emma had said.

"Call the police." She demanded as she handed Emma back to Andrea.

"Nnnoooooo…Cccaaallliieee…pplllleeeaasseeee…" Emma squealed hysterically and reached her arms out for a retreating Callie; the brunette was running and had already made it half way down the hall.

"It's okay sweetie…it's okay." Andrea tried to soothe Emma as she got her cell phone out to call the cops.

"Come on…come on…come on." Callie desperately pushed the elevator call button.

"Dammit!" She frustratingly cried and open handedly hit the wall as the elevator took its sweet time. She thought about taking the stairs but knew that would take twice as long in the end.

"Finally." She angrily muttered as the elevator dinged signaling its arrival.

Callie reached the top floor in no time and ran out towards Arizona's suite, her master keycard already in hand.

Because of her nerves, Callie fumbled with the doors scanner; her hands were shaking like crazy.

"Not now…God." She desperately cried as the card kept giving her trouble and falling from her hands.

"Dammit Callie…get it together." She chastised herself, the scanner finally beeping and allowing Callie to turn the door's knob.

As soon as she entered the suite, she could hear...who she assumed to be Renee threateningly yelling and saying things to Arizona, who she could also hear crying and begging for Renee to stop.

_**The brunette burst through the master bedroom suite's door to find Renee hitting Arizona with a leather belt, the blonde protectively holding up her hands and trying to ward off the hits.**_

_**Before Renee knew what was even happening she felt somebody grab ahold of her belt in midair. The next thing she knew it had been roughly pulled out of her hand and tossed to the floor, her body following along with it as somebody grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her face first to the floor.**_

_**Callie rushed Renee who was trying to lift herself up off the ground and turn her body. Callie finished turning Renee around as she easily pinned down the woman's body with her own. She lifted a closed fist straight in the air, Renee closing her eyes as she waited to be hit by the very strong and very angry woman that was on top of her. Renee tried to loosen her hands to try to protect her face from being hit, but Callie had them pinned.**_

_**Arizona looked on as Callie began to land hit…after hit…after hit.**_

_**"You like beating woman...huh?" Callie angrily asked in between blows.**_

"_**CALLIOPE!" Arizona desperately yelled as she saw the rage that had overtaken Callie's whole body.**_

_**Callie stopped in midair as she heard Arizona's voice, she looked over at the blonde. Her eyes widening as she saw Arizona cowering in a corner crying, the look of fear in her eyes piercing Callie straight through to the core of her being. **_

_**It was the same look of fear that the blonde had had when she first come to the hotel that night. **_

_**It was the same look of fear so many women who used to seek help at the shelter use to carry in their eyes. **_

_**And it was the same look of fear her wife would have whenever she would wake up drenched in sweat from one of her nightmares…nightmares that occurred when she would remember the woman who had put that fear in her in the first place. **_

_**Callie had vowed to herself a long time ago to never put that same fear in her wife's eyes…and as she looked at the blonde who had entered her life like a tornado, and had slowly overtaken every inch of her heart…she decided right then and there that she never wanted to be the cause of that fear in Arizona's eyes either.**_

_**A tear ran down Callie's cheek, "I'm sorry…I would never…I'm sorry." She shamefully stated as she swallowed thickly.**_

_**She turned her head back to watch Renee struggling underneath the vice grip she had around her neck, the other woman's face was turning blue and she was finding it harder and harder to breath. Callie's arm was still sticking straight in the air, her hand still balled into a tight fist and ready to come down on Renee's face.**_

_**Callie slowly trailed her eyes up the length of her arm and then back towards Arizona, the blonde still as scared as ever. **_

_**The brunette slowly loosened the grip around Renee's neck, as she slowly brought her arm back down and close to her body.**_

_**She reached out and tightly gripped Renee by the collar of her shirt, the other woman flinching and closing her eyes yet again when Callie's hand moved towards her face.**_

_**Renee felt the brunette lifting her up off of the floor and dragging her to standing position right along with her own body. Callie roughly shoved Renee into the nearest wall and stared her down…her fiery eyes daring the other woman to try to say anything…or move…or even breathe the wrong way.**_

_**Renee swallowed thickly and tried to calm her breathing, as she brought a hand up and wiped at her bloody nose. Arizona had landed a few good hits during their original altercation…and the angry latina that was currently staring her down had finished up the job quite nicely.**_

_**Callie was also breathing heavily but continued to warningly glance at Renee.**_

"_**Callie?" Arizona's soft plea made Callie turn her head.**_

_**Callie slowly walked over towards the blonde, as she reached out to lift Arizona up she noticed the blonde flinch.**_

"_**I'm sorry…I would…I would never use my hands to hurt you." She worriedly stated in a soft whisper as she held her arms up in surrender. She never wanted for Arizona to fear her.**_

"_**I know…I'm sorry…I'm just…" Arizona trailed off as she winced, her body ached all over.**_

"_**I think I have a few broken ribs…" Arizona announced as she winced yet again…it wouldn't be the first time.**_

_**Callie finished helping Arizona get up and hugged her close to her chest; Arizona's back was now towards Renee as Callie comforted the blonde but angrily looked over at the other woman.**_

_**Renee started to laugh, "I guess…I guess I was wrong…you didn't call Teddy…"**_

_**At her statement Arizona turned in Callie's arms.**_

"_**You're fucking somebody new." She chuckled to herself.**_

_**Callie felt as Arizona stiffened at Renee's comment.**_

"_**You can keep her." Renee told Callie with disgust in her voice as she looked passed Arizona and over at Callie.**_

"_**She's fuckin' useless anyways." She stated as she looked back at Arizona, the raven haired woman spitting out a some blood that had gathered in her mouth.**_

_**Callie angrily started to make her way towards Renee, the brunette only stopping when Arizona stepped in her way.**_

"_**Calliope, please?" Arizona searched the brunette's face pleadingly as she gently placed her hands on Callie's chest. "Please?"**_

Before Callie could answer Arizona, two Seattle police officers walked into the room.

"What seems to be the problem here?" One of the officers asked.

Renee pointed towards Callie, "I would like to press charges…she almost choked me to death." She stated and then pointed to the marks around her neck.

Callie grinned at Renee, "What are you talking about?"

"It was self-defense…you cut my cheek." Callie angrily squinted towards Renee as she pointed to her cheek; it still had the cut from the day before when Arizona had accidently hit her.

"Ma'am?" The officer looked towards Arizona to get her confirmation. He could tell the blonde had been the victim here, and by the looks of it, she had been injured pretty badly.

He also assessed, that more than likely it wasn't by the taller brunette…because she was currently gently rubbing at the blonde's back, and the blonde seemed comfortable with her.

Renee warningly looked over at Arizona, the blonde nervously swallowing as she could feel Renee's eyes burning through her.

"It was…she's my ex-girlfriend. IIII…I left her about a week ago because…because she's physically abusive towards me." Arizona stated in a quiet voice as she avoided eye contact with the officer.

"She came here to force me to go back home with her. When I refused she started hitting me…Callie walked in during the fight and…" Arizona trailed off as she thought about everything that occurred, tears starting to make a track down her cheeks yet again.

The officer compassionately nodded towards Arizona and walked over to Renee. His partner walked over to Arizona to get her official statement, as well as Callie's.

They also got Renee's account of everything, and after evaluating the evidence and everybody's testimony, they decided to place Renee under arrest. Callie explained that Arizona would follow up with her lawyer tomorrow.

"Renee Plummer, you are under arrest for domestic violence. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?"

Renee simply nodded as the cuffs were placed on her hands…the raven haired woman was seething. As she was being led away she dared one last glance towards Arizona, the blonde instantly looking away with fear.

A female officer had been dispatched to the suite; she would be the one taking and collecting all of the pertinent evidence from Arizona, including pictures of the bruises and marks Renee had left on the blonde's body.

The other two male officers had cleared out with Renee, and now Arizona was in the bathroom with the female officer being photographed, the blonde feeling very humiliated and exposed at the moment.

Callie worriedly paced the expanse of the suite's living room as she waited for Arizona to finish with the officer. As she heard the master suite's bedroom door being opened the brunette stopped dead in her tracks. The female officer gave Callie a small smile as she walked out of the hotel room, but Arizona hadn't come out of the room yet.

Callie made her way towards the bedroom, but there were no signs of Arizona…all that was left were the physical reminders that there had been some sort of a struggle in the room earlier.

Callie slowly made her way towards the bathroom, the door was slightly ajar…the brunette sticking her head through the small opening. Arizona was looking at herself in the mirror, the tears continued to drop down her face.

"Hey." Callie softly whispered.

Arizona sniffled and hurriedly tried to wipe her face as she turned to face Callie, "Hey."

As Callie could make out the new bruises forming on the blonde's face, neck and arms…she felt angry with herself for not protecting Arizona better. She should have taken preventative measures...body guards...something.

She walked over towards Arizona and gently rubbed her hands up and down the blonde's arms, "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For…for losing my cool earlier…for not being here…for not hiring a hitman to take her ass out." Callie smirked as she saw the hint of a smile tug at Arizona's lips with her last statement.

"I don't want Emma to see me like this." Arizona worriedly looked at Callie.

Callie nodded, "She's downstairs with Andrea…she's really worried about you...she's going to want to see you."

Arizona reached up a dried a few of her tears as she thought about poor Emma running scared to look for Callie, but thanks to her niece she was still alive…Arizona shuddered at the thought of what could have happened if Emma hadn't gone to get Callie.

If the brunette hadn't come up to intervene when she did...Arizona didn't even want to think about how this day could have ended up.

"Oh God…Teddy…she can't see me like this either…not after so long…I can't see her like this."

"Well…we could call her…you don't have to see her today."

At Callie's suggestion Arizona stiffened.

"Or…" Callie continued, she didn't want Arizona to think she was controlling who she could or could not be friends with.

"We could try to cover you up…long sleeves, jeans…a little make-up."

Arizona nodded, "Story of my life." She sadly stated.

Callie heavily sighed, "Can I take a look at your ribs?" She pointed to Arizona's shirt seeking permission to take it off and check the blonde out.

Arizona's eyes went wide…she didn't want Callie to see the heart transplant scar…she couldn't take off her shirt in front of the brunette.

"Or…uh…we could…we could go to the hospital?" Callie suggested as she saw Arizona's reaction.

"They're fine…I've dealt with it before…it's no big deal."

"Arizona…" Callie whispered as she tilted her head and slowly reached for the blonde.

"I said I'm fine…don't you ever take no for an answer?" She angrily snapped at the brunette as she moved back from Callie's touch, a look of hurt crossing Callie's features.

"I'm sorry." Arizona shamefully apologized.

"You're wrong." Callie awkwardly stated after a few minutes of silence.

"What?" Arizona confusedly asked. The brunette had this weird way of just blurting out random things at the most awkward times.

"Earlier…when you said it was the story of your life…covering up and stuff…you're wrong."

"It's not the story of your life…maybe it has been for the last year and a half but…who were you before Renee Plummer?"

"I…uh…" Arizona shook her head from side to side...she didn't really know anymore.

"Who were you?" Callie gently asked.

"I was…"

"No…I am…Arizona 'freaking' Robbins." The blonde stated with conviction, as she looked Callie directly in her eyes, Callie encouragingly smiled at her to go on.

"And…I'm a kickass peds surgeon…I freaking operate on tiny humans…like nobody's business…and I…I'm perky…like really annoyingly perky…I wore freaking roller skates for shoes for God's sakes!" Arizona smiled as she the memory of when she would roll down the halls of Seattle Grace.

"You wore roller skates for shoes?" Callie teasingly asked as she made a face.

"Yeah…you got a problem with that?" Arizona smirked as she sexily squinted at Callie.

"Normally…it would be a deal breaker…but…I've got it bad for you…Arizona 'freaking' Robbins." Callie mimicked the blonde's earlier statement as the two women shared a knowing smile.

Callie pulled Arizona in for a hug, the blonde hissing when Callie touched her back.

"I'm sorry." Callie apologized as she tried to move back from the hug, Arizona not allowing her as she held on tight. "Don't." The blonde said.

"I…your hands…and your arms…they…I feel safe with you." She stated as she closed her eyes and Callie held her tightly.

"It's different from…it's just different." Arizona whispered in Callie's ear.

When Renee would touch Arizona it would feel like fire, her skin would burn…it was painful and she would just wish for it to stop. But, when Callie would touch her…it also felt like fire…but the good kind, the kind that made Arizona's body burn with desire for the beautiful brunette.

"I'm normally not this clingy." Arizona whispered as they continued to hug, Callie letting out a small chuckle.

The brunette knew that this was a process of the cycle of abuse that Arizona would have to go through.

Many women would react to their abusers differently; Callie had noticed that Arizona had decided to act passively. Sometimes an abused woman says nothing and allows the abuse to continue. She becomes her abuser's enabler. She grows weaker and the abuser grows stronger. Her passivity prolongs the loss of her own honor and dignity, and encourages the abuse to continue.

Maybe the fact that Arizona grew up with a Marine for a father had a little to do with how she acted towards Renee. When they had gone to Callie's house the other night, Arizona had opened up a bit more while they drank their coffees in Callie's kitchen.

Arizona had mentioned to Callie that they were always moving as children and that her brother was her best friend, and that her mother would go along with whatever the Colonel would say. She would always tell Arizona not to rock the boat. He wasn't abusive…but Arizona expressed that she did have some deep rooted authority issues. And that sometimes she would get angry at her mother for never sticking up for herself, or her and Tim. She hated that her mother would keep quiet when she should have spoken up about certain decisions.

Callie knew that Arizona needed to start working through her issues with counseling…but she would bring that up at another time…Arizona hadn't been very receptive when Callie had suggested maybe visiting a support group.

"If I can put up with roller skates shoes…I can put up with anything." Callie stated as she pulled back from the hug and knowingly winked at Arizona, both women sharing a smile.

As Arizona processed Callie's statement…_I can put up with anything. _She worriedly looked at Callie, she had to tell her the truth…because she was starting to fall for the brunette…and it would only hurt them more in the long run.

**A/N: The line about the difference between how Callie's hands and Renee's hands felt against Arizona's skin...I got the idea from a review that was left by AnnaBir...in reference to a song that she had picked for this story...it's called His Hands, by Jennifer Nettles...and I absolutely loved listening to it, so thank you Anna.**

**A/N: Okay, so I left the last chapter on a cliffhanger and I wanted to get that issue resolved. I will be updating again at the end of this week, it will pick up right where this chapter left off…so, visit from Teddy, and Arizona's parents come to town. The Colonel will probably not be too happy to know that Arizona has been lying to them and that she put Emma's life in danger.**

**This chapter was more of a filler to get Renee out of the way, the next chapter will be Arizona finally starting to come to terms with why she acted how she acted with Renee, and making some decisions about her life and what she wants to do to get back to being Arizona, because she isn't acting like herself right now…but that's because of being stuck in an abusive relationship with Renee. **

**Also, something drastic will happen in the story that will allow her to finally get up off of her ass and get her life back on track, and we will finally see her tell Callie the truth.**

**Nobody's going to die or anything like that…but something happens that effects Arizona and it will allow her to open up and we will get to see a little insight as to why she got with Renee, why she stayed with her, and what it was that triggered and drove her to be where she is at today. The rest of the story will focus on her journey of moving on and getting her life back together.**

**(So, if the characters seem a little bit out of character...it's because it's an A/U story...and I'm trying to write it as part of both of their individual journeys to try to get them back to their old selves.)**

**I just wanted to make a note of that...because I got a PM about it...and I wanted to make sure if anybody else was feeling that way, they could have an idea as to why they were be written a certain way.**

**:)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Grey's Anatomy character(s) and/or settings, as well as any other outside materials mentioned in this story. This story is for entertainment purposes only.**

**A/N: I wanted to thank all of you for all the wonderful reviews, and all the favorites and follows on the last chapter. I seriously appreciate you guys taking the time out to do that. Also, I want to apologize because I meant to put this chapter up earlier but got a little busy with some things.**

**Italics equal flashbacks, thoughts, or dreams. **

**Speaking of italics...there is a part in this chapter that is a double point of view flashback...but only from Callie's point of view - Okay, I'm reading that last sentence and it doesn't make sense to me either...and I wrote it...LOL! **

**As you read you'll see what I mean. It's a double flashback and so I used bold italics and regular italics to easily pick up on the POV change within the double flashback. (Or, at least that was my intention and I hope it works outs that way.)**

Arizona looked at herself in the mirror as she finished applying her make-up. Teddy had called to confirm that she was on her way about thirty minutes ago. The cardio surgeon had sounded extremely happy over the phone, and Arizona couldn't wait to see her best friend.

The blonde stepped out of the master bathroom and looked around at her new suite, Callie had offered to give her and Emma a different room, the brunette figured it was best that she and Emma not have to be reminded of the earlier incident that had occurred with Renee.

The blonde was pulled from her thoughts as she heard a knock at the door, a smile instantly gracing her face at the prospect of seeing Teddy. She hurriedly made her way towards the door, her body only protesting slightly because of her bruised ribs.

"Teddy..." Arizona stated as she desperately lunged forward and hugged her friend, she had missed Teddy dearly.

Teddy lost her balance momentarily as Arizona's arms wrapped around her, her own arms coming up to hug the eager blonde. After several minutes of hugging, they both pulled back…both of them with tears in their eyes.

"I'm so glad you're here." Arizona softly stated. Her voice was thick with emotion.

"Me too." Teddy smiled as she wiped at her tears.

They made their way into the suite and sat down to talk, their behavior around each other not as easy going or as comfortable as it use to be. Teddy sat on the loveseat, while Arizona sat a good distance away on the other couch.

Teddy noticed the heavy make-up on Arizona's face. It was thick and probably hiding several bruises, it took away from her friend's natural beauty. Arizona had always worn light natural colors, she never needed much but she had started wearing her make-up this way back when Renee had shown up in their lives. The Cardio Surgeon decided to not broach the subject of Renee for now.

"So, did you talk with your parents?" She cautiously asked.

"Yeah. Last night after I hung up with you…and earlier today. Their flight lands tonight."

Arizona continued to speak as she knowingly smiled at Teddy, "But…you already knew that…since you spoke with them to tell them I was okay…and offered to pick them up at the airport."

A nervous chuckle escaped Teddy's lips, "I'm sorry. I was just…they were so worried and…I…I was too." She sadly stated, Arizona nodding her head.

"Teddy…I'm…I'm so sorry…for everything." Tears gathered in Arizona's eyes as she shamefully bowed her head.

Teddy got up from the loveseat and made her way over to sit near her best friend. As Arizona felt the couch dip and the proximity of her best friend…the tears she was struggling to hold back finally escaped her eyes.

Teddy gently reached out and lifted the blonde's chin, "What happened? How did…I mean…I try to…I try to understand…I really do…but, I just keep thinking…why? Why would Arizona stay with her?"

Arizona sadly shook her head from side to side, "Sometimes I wish I knew the answer to that myself. I can't…I can't explain it."

She sadly looked at Teddy, as tears continued to roll down her face, "She wasn't like that at first. I…after Tim's death and the heart transplant…I felt so…my whole entire life changed overnight…I lost my brother, I almost lost my life…and then I felt so guilty about the fact that the person whose heart I got...did…she did lose her life…and then there was Emma and she needed…she needed so much attention…I was never a mom…I was never meant to be a mom…but then all of a sudden…I was. I was responsible for this little tiny human…I couldn't operate on her and send her home…because I was her home."

Teddy looked on as Arizona worked through her emotions.

"And then I felt…I felt so…sometimes I wish that had died."

Teddy's eyes widened at Arizona's statement.

"Everything changed…I felt like I wasn't in control of anything. The heart transplant it…I would have these dreams…and these different thoughts and…I would just go through the motions…everyday…work, Emma, sleep…work, Emma, sleep. I wasn't happy…I had received the most precious gift ever…and I…I wasn't happy." The blonde's voice cracked.

Teddy nodded her head in understanding as she reached up to dry the tears from her best friend's cheeks, but they just kept falling and falling.

"And my dad he…he would call and question me about every decision I was making for Emma. 'You're never been a parent Arizona…you don't know what you're doing…if you can't handle it...just give her to me and your mother…you're going to screw that little girl up!'."

Arizona's continued to cry as she remembered the many arguments that she would have with her father, her best friend sadly looking on as Arizona got a far-away look in her eyes.

"I wanted to prove him wrong so badly…and I…I was even a little selfish with Emma…I know that now, but…at the time…" Arizona angrily scoffed.

"Turns out…he was right. I was doing that exact thing he said…I was screwing her up." She sadly looked towards Teddy.

"No…that's not true." Teddy stated.

Arizona sadly nodded, "Yes it is."

She sighed heavily, "Tim…Tim and Alice…they chose me, they chose me but…but I'm sure this isn't what they had in mind when they did that."

"This…" Arizona pointed to her cut lip and around the hotel room, "This isn't what they wanted for Emma."

Arizona shook her head, "Then Renee came along and…I…I started to see a little bit of the old me coming back…you know? Like, I was rocking surgeries and…feeling good…looking forward to waking up every morning. I felt good about life, and myself, my body…about the way I was taking care of Emma…my dad even gave me a compliment…said I was finally getting the hang of things. I was happy…I was…I was happy with her." Arizona's voice cracked as she thought about the beginning of her relationship with Renee.

"But then…she…she started acting different…"

"It was small at first you know? Like, I supposedly would look at other women when we were out walking…or…I was flirting…or...you and I would hang out too much. She would pick fights with me…said it wasn't normal for us to be so close if we had never been together…intimately...then…" Arizona swallowed thickly as she remembered the first time the abused happened.

"Then she would shove me or…or roughly grab me during our arguments…then she would say she was sorry…that she wouldn't do it again. She would always buy something super expensive…or romantic and sweet. I believed her…it was just a little push…a small bruise on my arm. I didn't…I really would believe she didn't mean it."

"But then the shoving, and the pushing, and the grabbing…soon became…slapping…and hitting…and it just kept getting worse…and worse…and I…I was too ashamed to tell anybody."

Teddy sadly looked at her best friend, "Why didn't you leave Ari…after the first hit…why?"

Teddy just couldn't understand. Arizona was intelligent, she was a successful surgeon…she couldn't understand.

Arizona sadly looked at Teddy, her best friend didn't understand…but by asking her those questions it was if she was re-victimizing her all over again.

"My self-esteem was stomped on Teddy…little by little…every day. She would degrade me. She gradually chipped away at my soul. I felt totally worthless and ashamed. I was scared of her…and please don't minimize what I felt…I feared for my life. People…people who haven't gone through it…they don't understand. They can't understand...and they never will." Arizona defensively stated.

"I wouldn't. I would never dismiss your feelings." Teddy stated as she worriedly looked on.

"She isolated me from my friends and family…all ties I had to the outside world were destroyed. I became dependent on her…both financially and psychologically. I had no one to talk to…except for a three and half year old…and her. How sick is it that? I would actually plan my day around my beatings, one in the afternoon and then I could have adult conversation…and if she was drinking…maybe another one before bed…no big deal. And I know…I know I allowed it to happen but…she knew what buttons to push…letting Tim down…not having him around anymore…the fact that the last thing I said to him was that I was mad at him for not letting me know he was being deployed again. She also knew that being a failure in my father's eyes was always…I can't admit defeat…and especially not to Colonel Daniel Robbins of the U.S. Marine Corps…she used those two things to her advantage."

"I couldn't say, 'Hey dad…you were right…I am totally screwing up Emma and letting Tim and Alice down…I have a girlfriend who confuses me with a punching bag on daily basis…and Emma...well…she has to hide in her room until it's done. I have no money, no job…that fancy medical school you helped me pay for by taking out loans and mortgaging the house…yeah…turns out…I screwed that up too'…" Arizona trailed off as she started to sob hysterically.

Teddy reached out and brought her best friend in for a hug as she soothingly rubbed Arizona's back.

"Shhh…it's okay Ari. You took a huge step in finally getting away from her…everything's going to start falling into place…you'll see." Teddy soothed.

As Teddy continued to comfort, Arizona's crying started to calm down, the two friends pulled back from their hug.

"Everything's going to be okay."

Arizona nodded.

The two friends decided to talk about lighter subjects.

Teddy smiled at Arizona, "So…this really nice friend that's been helping you out…tell me about her?"

Arizona playfully rolled her eyes, "Her name is Callie…and she's been helping me out since I left Renee."

"So…is she hot?" Teddy wiggled her eyebrows.

Arizona nonchalantly shrugged, but her dimpled smile gave her away.

"Uh oh...she is. So, is she…you know…on your team?"

"Yes." Arizona's giggled at her friend's question, her smile slightly faltering when thoughts of Melissa entered her mind.

"What's the matter? You don't think she sees you as something more than just her friend?" Teddy worriedly asked as she noticed Arizona's face change.

Arizona shook her head, "No…she's perfect actually…and…I know she likes me…she's told me before."

"Okay…and you obviously like her too." Teddy stated with a bit of confusion, she didn't see the problem.

"It's more than that…I think…I think I may have fallen in love with her…but…I…her wife…" Arizona's voice cracked.

"She's married?" Teddy asked in shock.

Arizona sadly shook her head and let out a whimpered cry, "Widowed."

"Oh…" Teddy gave Arizona a sympathetic smile.

"Well…you just met Ari…you need to give her some time and…"

"I have her dead wife's heart beating in my chest." Arizona awkwardly blurted out.

Teddy confusedly stared at Arizona, "What?"

"Her wife's…her wife's heart is beating in my chest."

"How…how can you be so sure? Did…did the donor family write you back…does she know…is she okay with it? Oh my God…are you sure…this is…" Teddy babbled.

Arizona nodded, she went on to tell Teddy how she found out the truth, and that Callie had yet to know anything.

Callie sat on the couch in her living room; she had come home from work about an hour ago. Her sister had offered to babysit Sofia and Emma, since she would be accompanying Arizona to pick her parents up from the airport later tonight.

She told Aria that as soon as Arizona was able to talk with her parents, they would go and pick up the girls. The blonde had stressed the fact that she wanted Emma to see Teddy, and her grandparents…but that she also had a few important issues she wanted to discuss with them first, and that she didn't want Emma to be around for that. She could see them after.

Arizona's niece had not liked that idea at all; she had gotten angry at Arizona and accused her of breaking her promise and being a liar. Thankfully, a sleepover with Sofia and her Tia Aria had been proposed…and all had been forgiven by the little girl.

As Callie sat in her living room and half paid attention to what was on TV, she fiddled around with the ring on her necklace…thoughts of this morning flooding her mind.

The brunette abruptly stood up from the couch and ran upstairs to her bedroom. As Callie entered her room, she grabbed the horse that Mel had won for her from the dresser and walked towards her bathroom.

The brunette placed the horse on the countertop and stared at it; The brunette sighed deeply as she looked up and stared at her reflection in the mirror.

Callie closed her eyes and remained silent for a few minutes. As thoughts of Arizona and Melissa flooded her mind, small tears tracked down her cheeks.

"_**I just don't think I should keep wearing it." Callie sadly stated.**_

_Melissa smiled at her wife-to-be as their friends and family looked on._

"_**These say otherwise." Arizona wiped away at Callie's tears. The blonde tenderly taking the ring from Callie's hands and placing it back on her necklace.**_

_Melissa took Callie's hand in her own and nervously brought up the diamond wedding ring, their hands were shaking and both women let out a nervous chuckle._

_**Arizona then made her way around Callie's back and clasped the chain around the brunette's neck.**_

_Melissa gently placed the ring on Callie's finger and began to speak._

"_**There…perfect." Arizona lovingly whispered, her chin resting on Callie's shoulder as she adjusted the ring and the necklace.**_

"_I, Melissa Kathleen Taylor, take you…Calliope Iphegenia Torres, to be my lawfully wedded wife. _

"_**Thanks." Callie stated as her gaze met Arizona's, the knot in Callie's throat not allowing her to speak many words.**_

"_To have and to hold…from this day forward…"_

_**Arizona lovingly smiled at Callie as they held eye contact through the glass mirror.**_

"_For richer…for poorer…in sickness…and in health…"_

"_**I will be ready one day…to take it off…I will…I promise."**_

"_To love and to cherish…"_

"_**I know." Arizona nodded as she smiled back at Callie.**_

"_Until death do us part." Melissa smiled brightly at Callie as she finished her vows and slipped the ring on Callie's finger._

Callie opened her eyes and swallowed thickly, she saw the tears rolling down her cheeks as she stared back at herself in the mirror.

"Until death do us part." She sadly whispered.

"I…I miss you everyday…but…I find myself…falling in love with the most magnificent woman." Callie stated as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.

"And today…when I…when I thought she was in danger…I realized…I wanted to protect her…but not just…not just today…I want to protect her always. I want to make sure that nobody hurts her…not even me. I don't want anybody to hurt her physically, or emotionally."

"And…I think…I think she feels the same way about me, that I feel about her…and I want to protect her heart…so…I can't…I can't really do that if…"

"I need her to know that she's important to me…and I don't think I can prove it to her if…if I'm still wearing your wedding ring."

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry that I made you go out that night. And that I feel asleep while you were hurt…that I wasn't there to protect you...and that…that you never got to meet Sof." Callie brought her hand up and roughly wiped at her cheeks.

She slowly reached up behind her neck and unclasped her necklace. She let the ring gently slide down the length of the chain and into her palm.

She stared at it for what seemed like forever, until finally she brought it up to her lips and placed one last gentle kiss on it, the brunette closing her eyes as the ring remained touching her lips.

Callie opened her eyes and slipped it back through the necklace. She grabbed the stuff horse off of the counter and started to wrap the necklace around his neck.

It took her three loops and it was a bit of a tight fit, but now the ring rest comfortably across the horse's small chest.

She walked with him over to her daughter's room and turned on the light. As she walked into the room she headed towards Sofia's bed and placed him next to the smaller one that sat there.

She smiled down as the two horses, "Now…don't go making babies." She sadly teased.

The brunette let out a heavy sigh and made her way back towards the door, turning around one last time she smiled, "Bye."

Callie took in a deep breath, turned off the light switch, and slowly closed the door behind her as she headed back downstairs.

"You have to tell her Arizona." Teddy argued with her best friend.

"I know…don't you think I know that?"

"It's…it's only been a few days…I'm going to tell her…I just…" The blonde worriedly looked at Teddy.

"It's hard." Arizona sadly whispered.

Teddy nodded, her voice laced with compassion, "I know…but…every day that passes by…will only make it harder…and it's going to eat away at you."

Arizona sadly nodded, the two women being pulled away from their conversation when the blonde's cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Arizona, it's mom."

"Hey mom."

"We're experiencing some bad weather…our flight was cancelled."

"When will you be here?"

"Tomorrow morning…at around ten."

"Okay…I'll be there to pick you up."

"Are…are you okay sweetheart?" Barbara worriedly asked, she could tell by Arizona's voice that her daughter had been crying.

"I've…I've just had a really rough couple of days…" _Months is more like it._

"Well, we'll be there tomorrow…we'll sort everything out Arizona."

"Thanks mom." Arizona's voice cracked.

They talked a little while longer, Barbara eventually saying goodbye.

"What's up?" Teddy asked once her best friend had hung up.

"Their flight was cancelled…they'll be here tomorrow."

Teddy nodded, both women chuckling when the Cardio Surgeon's cell phone also rang. It was Barbara calling Teddy to tell her about the flight being cancelled.

"So, do you need me to take you tomorrow…or are you still going with Callie?" Teddy asked.

"I have to check with her."

"Okay."

Both women nervously smiled at each other, as Teddy fiddled with the couch cushions.

After a while Teddy rolled her eyes, "This is silly."

Arizona turned to look at her best friend with furrowed eyebrows, "What?"

"This…we're best friends…we shouldn't be awkward around each other. I want us to go back to normal."

"Me too."

Teddy smiled brightly, Arizona did too.

"Okay…so we have to do something so that that can happen…you know…speed the process along." Teddy stated.

Arizona giggled, "Like what?"

"Let's watch hotel porn." She excitedly suggested.

"TEDDY!"

Teddy laughed out loud at Arizona's face.

"I was joking…let's watch a chick flick and order room service."

"Like we would do when we were younger." Arizona smiled at the memory.

"Exactly…it's been our thing since middle school…and I want it to keep being our thing."

Arizona and Teddy shared a knowing smile; Arizona gave Teddy the remote to order the movie as she picked up the phone and ordered them a bunch of junk food.

By the end of the movie, both women had tears in their eyes…their noses red from sniffling.

"That was so romantic." Teddy stated with a slight sniffle.

"Oh God…look at us." Arizona chuckled, Teddy joining in.

Out of nowhere, Arizona reached over and tightly hugged her best friend.

"I've missed you so much." She whispered.

"Me too." Teddy lovingly replied as both women remained in the embrace for a while.

Teddy pulled back from the hug, "And starting today…clean slate…no more saying you're sorry…okay?"

Arizona nodded.

"Thanks Teddy." Both women shared a smile.

The two friends laughed and talked a while longer, eventually saying their goodbyes as it was getting late. Teddy had to work early in the morning, but promises of hanging out again tomorrow were made.

The Cardio Surgeon also mentioned that if Arizona needed a ride…or her car…just to let her know and she would work out her schedule.

As Arizona shut the door behind Teddy, she couldn't help the feeling of pure joy that ran through her entire being. For the first time in a long time Arizona didn't feel helpless or completely alone. She knew that she could count on Callie and Teddy…and she wanted to make them proud.

She was going to find her true self again. She was going to find the Arizona that would win prestigious awards for her peds research, and who would win grants to fund hospitals in other countries. She wanted to be that girl who would roll around in rollerskate sneakers and used words like awesome.

She was going to make a better life for her and Emma…she was going to rise from the ashes. She wanted to find the person she had lost a long time ago. It was easy to blame Renee and say that she had stolen her, but Arizona knew better…she knew that she had lost herself a long time ago…and that's why Renee had been able to manipulate her so easily.

Arizona looked down at her phone, Callie hadn't texted or called. The blonde decided to take advantage of her new found freedom and energy and walk to the brunette's house. She thought the brisk walk, coupled with the cool night air would help her clear her mind…make plans to get her life back in order.

As Callie heard a knock at her front door, she turned the volume down on her TV and got up to answer.

"Hey?" The brunette awkwardly greeted.

"You don't seem happy to see me." Arizona playfully teased as she flirtatiously smiled at Callie.

"No…Oh God no…I am always happy to see you." Callie embarrassingly stated as she fully opened the door for Arizona to step inside.

"I was just surprised. I thought you were going to call me when you were ready for me to go pick you up. But then it started getting late and I figured you went with Teddy."

"My parents' flight was cancelled." Arizona informed, Callie nodding her head in acknowledgement.

Callie noticed as an overly excited Arizona kept happily bouncing on her heels.

"What has gotten into you?" Callie chuckled.

Arizona shrugged her shoulders, "Nothing…I'm just in a good mood…for the first time in a long time...I actually feel happy."

Callie smiled brightly at the look of pure joy radiating off of the blonde's face.

"Hmmm…maybe we should celebrate your new found happiness." Callie seductively whispered as she sexily walked over towards Arizona.

She grabbed the blonde by the hips and pulled her closer to her own body, Arizona letting out a small moan as their heated centers collided.

She looked up at Callie and hungrily stared at the brunette's lips.

"What...uh..." Arizona nervously swallowed.

"What did you have in mind?" She whispered over soft lips as Callie lovingly stared into her eyes.

"I was thinking…some wine…" Callie husked out.

Arizona nodded, as Callie continued to shoot off ideas. The brunette was still holding onto the blonde's hips and slowly swaying both of their bodies from side to side.

"Some…cuddling."

Arizona sexily squinted at Callie, "What else?" She huskily whispered, her earlier nerves fading as she felt her body respond to Callie's.

"Maybe…some kissing…and if you'll let me…a little tongue." Callie slowly ran her tongue over her lips and moistened them, Arizona instantly becoming aroused as she felt some wetness in between her legs.

"I totally want to let you." She stated in a hushed whisper, her eyes lustfully shining back at Callie.

Callie smiled as they both dropped their gazes and stared at each other's lips, their eyes slowly traveling back up to meet each other's once again.

Callie slowly closed the distance between them, her lips lightly parting as she felt soft, moist pink lips crash against her own.

Both women moaned at the contact, Arizona's tongue instinctively passed over Callie's bottom lip seeking permission to enter, the brunette granting it immediately.

Arizona wrapped her tongue around Callie's, both of them becoming more aroused with each sensual moan that escaped their lips.

Callie felt like her insides were on fire, her center was throbbing and her hands took on a life of their own as they started to explore Arizona's body.

As Arizona felt Callie's strong hands gently caressing her sides, her neck, her shoulders, and her breasts…the blonde could feel her libido kicking in, her own hands daringly traveling away from Callie's shoulders towards the brunette's breasts.

"Will you let me make love to you?" Callie desperately whispered.

"My bruises." Arizona shamefully replied, her movements halting temporarily at the question.

"Please…let my hands claim every inch of your body…let me erase all the hurt. Let me show you what real love feels like." Callie whispered, her hands continuing to melt Arizona with each touch.

The brunette's hands had somehow made it to Arizona's back side, they were now gravitating back towards the blonde's front and towards the hem of Arizona's shirt.

As Arizona felt Callie's soft gentle fingers traveling against her bare skin, the blonde abruptly brought her hands down to halt the brunette's movements.

"STOP!"

"I'm sorry." Callie worriedly stated as she quickly pulled back her hands.

"I didn't…I would never…I just thought." She nervously babbled as she pleadingly searched the blonde's face.

Arizona swallowed thickly as she stared back at Callie.

"Did she…did she ever…" Callie started to ask.

"No." Arizona snapped back.

Callie nodded at the blonde's response, "Okay."

"I'm really am sorry. I shouldn't have…"

"No…I'm sorry. I just…" Arizona trailed off and sighed.

"I have…I have a scar." She whispered, as she shamefully looked away. She couldn't look Callie in the eye right now.

Callie gently reached out and lifted Arizona's chin. She turned her head back so they could face each other; the blonde had tears in her eyes.

"Hey…I think scars are pretty badass." Callie quietly whispered as she tenderly smiled at the blonde.

"Remember that night at the beach?" Arizona nervously asked, Callie nodding her head at the random question.

"I said that I had to tell you some things…but that I wasn't ready to just yet."

Callie knitted her eyebrows at the blonde's sudden strange behavior, but nodded for Arizona to continue.

Arizona let out a shaky breath as she shook her head from side to side, her tears coming out more rapidly now.

"Arizona, what's the matter?" Callie worriedly asked, she hadn't meant to be so forward with the blonde…or pressure her into to do something she wasn't ready for.

Arizona swallowed thickly as she reached for the hem of her shirt and slowly brought it up over her head, Callie quietly looked on as the blonde undressed herself.

The brunette didn't notice the long scar that ran along the blonde's upper torso at first, her eyes were intently focused on the smooth, creamy white skin of Arizona's abdomen.

A bit of fury took over Callie's body as she also noticed the angry welts and bruises that Renee's belt had left behind on Arizona's perfect skin.

Callie's eyes slowly traveled their way up passed Arizona's pink lacey bra and finally landed on the huge scar running down the middle of her chest.

Arizona had tears in her eyes as she noticed Callie's eyes had landed on her scar, and the brunette's own eyes started to glisten.

The brunette shakily reached out her hand and slowly traced the expanse of Arizona's scar from the bottom up. Arizona gasped at the touch, shivers going up and down her spine as goosebumps formed all over her body.

Callie swallowed thickly, her voice cracking slightly, "Tell me."

"It's from a heart transplant."

At Arizona's statement Callie closed her eyes, the first of many tears to come trailed down her cheek.

"I was…I was born with a heart condition and...about five years ago…it finally caught up with me. I was put on the donor transplant list. My family…we were never the religious types but…I saw my mom pray for the first time ever when I got put on that list." Arizona's voice cracked as she thought about that very difficult time in her and her family's lives.

"I felt like…I had been on it forever…just waiting to get the call…the call telling me that somebody else had died in order for me to live. I lost all hope…I was ready to die…I had said my goodbyes…made amends. I left everything in order...I didn't think I would ever get that call...truth was...as much as I wanted it...I was afraid to get it."

"Four and a half years ago…when my brother and his wife…when they were killed by a drunk driver. It took us two days to find them…when we finally did…I remember thinking…I'm so glad we didn't find them right away…because if…" Arizona let out a whimpered cry.

"Because if one of them didn't make it…IIII…I could never…I could never live knowing that I was alive because I got one of their hearts."

Callie finally opened her eyes as she sadly looked at Arizona; the blonde noticing the pain in Callie's eyes. She figured this conversation was making Callie relive some not so good memories.

Arizona nervously trudged forward knowing that once the brunette heard the whole story…everything would blow up in her face, and that this happy bubble that she had clung to since meeting Callie was about to burst.

"A lot of changes happened in my life all at once at that time. I lost my brother…my sister-in-law…and all of sudden I was Emma's caretaker. I never raised a child before…I never even babysat as a teenager. I didn't have a motherly bone or desire for it in my body. I was…the stress of everything took it tolls on me…and my heart…my heart started to fail me…I started deteriorating pretty quickly and if I didn't get that miracle my mom had started praying for…I was going to die." Arizona sadly whispered.

"So, my mom prayed…and prayed some more." Arizona nervously nodded.

"And we got our miracle." Arizona's voice cracked.

Callie swallowed thickly as Arizona poured her heart out.

"Among all the crap our family was going through…we got a tiny sliver of hope. Except for…what should have been the happiest day of my life…had become somebody else's nightmare. We got a miracle…and they got a call telling them that some drunk had killed their loved one."

Callie let out a whimpered cry as flashes of the night her wife died inundated her mind.

"I don't remember much of that day…just what…what my friends and family tell me."

"Emma has this stuffed toy horse. He's pink and white…and has the initials MM on the bottom of his tag…and she loves it so much. She sleeps with it, and plays with it. She takes it everywhere. When we left…I…I was so scared and I didn't…I forgot to grab it for her."

Callie tears continued to flow from her eyes, the brunette's mouth was slightly opened and she struggled to breathe.

"She says it's her favorite toy because…grandma told her he's the one who delivered her aunty Zona's heart."

"Oh God." Callie cried as she shook her head from side to side. Her eyes instantly darting towards Arizona's chest…right to the side where the blonde's heart sits.

Arizona's own tears became more rapid as Callie just stared at her chest, the blonde feeling insecure and exposed all of a sudden. She could feel the brunette's stare burning through her…it was almost if Callie wanted to see Melissa's heart.

"No…no…no…" Callie stated as she incredulously shook her head from side to side.

She sadly looked back up at Arizona.

"It's…it could be…it could be a coincidence. I…I have…I have letters…I can…we can go read them…and you'll see…it's just a coincidence." Callie nervously nodded as her eyes pleaded with Arizona.

"No Callie…it's not." Arizona sadly stated.

"I dream with her Callie. I didn't know it was her at the time…but, I knew she was my donor. Then I saw the picture of you two together…it was her…the pretty redhead from my dreams."

"You dream with her?" Callie sadly asked, her voice barely coming out.

Arizona nodded, "We're always in a garden…high up somewhere."

"I have to…I have to go." Callie absentmindedly stated as she brought her hands up and nervously ran them through her hair.

Arizona worriedly knitted her eyebrows, "What?"

"I…I need to…I have to go." Callie nodded as she hurriedly made her way towards the front door.

"Calliope…please?" Arizona desperately cried.

Callie grabbed her keys but didn't look back towards Arizona, "I'm sorry." The brunette stated as she abruptly ran out the front door.

**A/N: Well, Callie knows the truth now. As always, reviews and feedback are awesome ;)**

**Also, I don't know if anyone might be interested, but I would like to know if anybody wants to be a sort of sounding board for me...somebody I could bounce ideas off of...at any rate, if you're interested let me know via PM or whatever.**

**XOXOXO!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Grey's Anatomy character(s) and/or settings portrayed in this story, as well as any other outside material that is mentioned. This story is for entertainment purposes only.**

**A/N: Thank you so much to your response on the last chapter, it was absolutely incredible. I also want to thank everybody that offered to help with letting me bounce ideas off of them. I wrote each of you back individually, and once again I just want to say thank you and that if you have any ideas that you would like to see come across in the story, please feel free to let me know and I will try my hardest to work it in. **

**To CaseyJr, I looked up the Heart Transplant Sister Falls in Love story...what a cool and romantic real life story. Very touching.**

**To ****Thefreakinplane and Jen**, **I actually got this story from reading a magazine while I waited at a doctor's office. It was based on a woman named Claire Sylvia, and it talked about a few people with extraordinary experiences after receiving a transplant. It really interested me and I started to look into it, the main focus was Claire, she had received the heart from an 18 yr. old male...and started craving fried chicken, walking differently, and wanting beer. All things she had never experienced nor been interested in. She also talked about how she dreamt with him near a river. She knew it was her donor, and maybe his name...when she mentioned it to her caseworker, she just remained silent...even though she couldn't confirm it at the time because the family wanted to keep it anonymous. That led me to check out more things...and she actually has a book about her experience. So, I was like...hmmm, interesting...let me make it Calzona style. But, now I've watched the trailer to the movie 'Return to Me' and I am in the process of ordering the movie so that I can watch it...because it seems super cute and romantic. Thanks so much for turning me on to it.**

**Last, but not least...I would like to thank cycworker, as she and I have been PM'ing back and forth since the beginning of this story. And she has been awesome in helping me with this chapter by letting me bounce ideas off of her, coming up with some great ideas as well, and fixing my horrendous grammar mistakes. So, thank you very mucho!**

_**Italics equal thoughts, flashbacks, dreams, or writing...such as in a text for example.**_

Callie sat in the driver's seat of her car in front of her driveway. The brunette had tears running down her face and the key in her ignition, but she couldn't bring herself to start her car. The same thought kept running through her mind over and over again.

_Can't drive when you're upset…or tired…or it's late. Can't drive when you're upset…or tired…or it's late. Can't drive when you're upset…or tired…or…_

"It's late." Callie stated as she closed her eyes and cried silently against her steering wheel. The enormity of Arizona's news was weighing heavily on the brunette, and thoughts of the night her wife had lost her life kept haunting her.

After a while, she lifted her head up and angrily wiped away her tears. After pulling her keys out of the ignition and getting out of her car, she started pacing the sidewalk in front of her house.

"Hello." Lucia happily answered when she saw her daughter's name pop up on her caller ID screen.

"Mama…" Callie let out a whimpered cry.

As Lucia heard Callie's emotional voice on the line, the older Torres quickly became worried, "Calliope? What's wrong?"

"She…she hhhaa…has…she has MMM…MMel's hhh…heart." Callie stated in between choked cries.

Lucia could barely make out what Callie was saying, "Calliope?"

"I…III…nnn…nneed tttt…to know…wwhere…th…the le...l…llletters are?"

As Lucia finally realized what was going on she closed her eyes and sighed, "Mija…where's Arizona?" She worriedly asked.

"Sh…she's…in…in mmm…my…hh…house. I…I jjj…jjuust…nn…nnneed…th…the lll…llletters ma…mama."

"Calliope, please calm down mija…I…"

"Where are they? Please?" Callie's desperately pleaded as her voice cracked.

"They're in the greenhouse. I put…" Before Lucia could finish answering she heard the phone go silent.

"Calliope…hello…Calliope?"

After Callie didn't answer her, Lucia pulled the phone away from her ear only to notice that her daughter had ended the call. She abruptly walked out of her bedroom and headed downstairs, her keys and purse already in hand.

"Where are you going?" Aria worriedly asked her mother as she saw her frantic state.

The younger woman had been sitting on the couch doing some homework on her laptop. Callie and Arizona had never come to pick up the girls, so they all had dinner and watched a movie in the in-home theatre. Afterward, she had put the girls to bed.

"I have to go to Calliope's." Lucia stated as she walked passed her daughter and hurried towards the front door.

"Is something wrong?" Aria worriedly asked. Her mother was starting to freak her out.

"No mija, it's…something came up…but nobody's hurt or anything. We'll talk later…I promise. I just really have to go." Lucia informed her youngest child while she anxiously stood at the door, desperate to go find Callie.

At her mother's statement the younger woman simply nodded. Aria knew something was up, but felt a little more at ease now that she knew nobody was hurt. Lucia gave Aria one last apologetic smile and rushed out of the house.

Although Callie was still upset, she decided to get in her car and drive towards the hotel. She needed to get to the garden and find the letters. Once she read them she could prove to Arizona that she was mistaken. It was just a big misunderstanding that she wound up with Melissa's horse…that's all. Just because she had the horse didn't mean she had her heart. The letters would prove it.

As Callie approached the hotel she decided to go through the service entrance around the back. She wanted to avoid being spotted by any of her employees. The service entrance was rather quiet and void of movement at this time of night. The brunette opened the service door with her key and went up the service elevator. The elevator only took her to the very top floor of the hotel. Once she reached the top floor, she made her way towards the stairwell and climbed the rest of the way up to the roof. She paused as she placed her hand on the heavy metal door, thoughts of Melissa flooding her mind once again. She took in a deep breath and pushed it open.

Callie made a beeline towards the greenhouse. The brunette walked quickly, all the while rummaging through her purse to find the key. As soon as she reached the door to the garden she already had the key in hand.

Callie opened the lock with ease and stepped inside. She frantically began to search through a bunch of shelves and drawers. The brunette silently cursed herself for how messy and abandoned the greenhouse looked. It was hard to imagine it had ever once been such a beautiful place.

Callie's search ended as she opened the top drawer of the wooden work station that sat right in the middle of the garden. As her eyes landed on a pile of envelopes with a rubber band tied around them, tears automatically sprang from her eyes.

She swallowed thickly as she stared at the pile of envelopes, but she couldn't bring herself to reach for them. She was afraid of what she'd find written inside those letters.

Tears rapidly streamed down Callie's cheeks as she continued to cry and sniffle. She apprehensively reached out a shaky hand and pulled the pile of envelopes out from the drawer. Her hands took on a life of their own as they automatically started untying the rubber band from around the pile of envelopes.

She loosely scattered them all along the top of the work station, her eyes scanning and re-scanning the ten sealed envelopes. Callie closed her eyes and took in a deep breath as she tried to control her emotions. Her eyes opened once again and her hand finally reached out to grab one of the envelopes. It was the one with the oldest post marked date on it.

She turned the envelope over and stuck her pinky underneath the flap from the right side. She slowly began to tear it open as she ran her finger along the bottom of the flap from right to left. Her heart and her mind raced as she got closer to the left side. Her breathing became more labored as she realized she was actually about to open it and reveal its contents. She was afraid of what she might find once she opened it.

Callie let out an angry chuckle as she incredulously shook her head from side to side. She had 'successfully' avoided reading the letters for so long…and now the person that she was starting to have feelings for…was the same person who had written them.

Callie took in a deep breath and tried to still herself in preparation for what she was about to read. She tried ardently to control her tears. As she pulled the letter from the envelope, her two shaky hands held on to it tightly.

As the brunette started reading, she lost the battle to not cry, as tears automatically began falling from her eyes.

_I've written this letter about a hundred times now, and my garbage can is full of crumpled papers. I guess I'm just not sure of what to say and every time I try to find the right words, they seem to fall short. I can't seem to figure out how to express in words how very thankful and grateful I am to you and your family. I would really like to meet you; perhaps get to know this wonderful person that I feel so closely bonded to now. __It's been a little over six months since I received the ultimate gift from her and I would love nothing more than to express my gratitude to you and your family. _

_A__lso, this might sound a little strange and may make no sense to you at all…or perhaps it will make total sense. The night of my operation, when we received the news of the transplant donor…along with the heart came this stuffed toy horse. I'm not sure if that means anything to you or your family, but I would like to return it to you if it's important. I get the feeling that it might be. Please consider meeting with me._

Callie brought her hand up to her mouth and muffled her sobs; tears were flowing like rivers from her eyes. The brunette carefully put the letter to the side and began to open yet another one, an action she planned on repeating until she had read them all. With each letter she read, Callie's emotions continued to get the best of her. Feelings of guilt washed over her as she remembered the reason Melissa had been out that night in the first place.

_ I was recently cleared by my physical therapist and allowed to go back to work fulltime. I know that certain personal information is not allowed to be included in these letters, but let's just say that not being able to work was taking its toll on me. I love my job very much and it's a big part of who I am. I know that this must be such a difficult situation for you. I myself struggle at times, but I am so, so grateful to you and your family. I still have the horse, athough I'm not sure how long I can continue to keep it away from my niece…she's keeps sneaking it into her crib. Please, I hope that you will consider meeting with me. I can't help but feel like somehow are paths are destined to be crossed._

Callie continued to cry as she opened yet another letter.

_I've been having these dreams lately. I'm in a garden way up high, and there is always the most beautiful redhead there. The garden is a safe place, peaceful and inviting. She never gives me her name, but somehow I know we're friends and that we will be forever linked to each other. I don't know how to explain it, but I know she's my donor. We have so many wonderful talks and I'd really love to share them with you. If you could please consider meeting with me…I really think she'd be okay with it._

Callie let out another choked sob. Each letter she read only magnified her feelings of guilt and confusion. Her tears were no longer making tracks down her cheeks; her whole face was covered with wetness from all of her crying, her eyes and nose bright red and puffy.

Although the letters were never allowed to go into details as far as addresses, or names. Arizona went on and on about her niece, who was in her custody due to the death of her brother and sister in law. The blonde would also talk about her adventures in becoming a parent overnight, the dreams she would continually have with Melissa, her feelings of guilt and depression, meeting Renee, and when things started to take a turn for the worse.

Callie noticed that with each letter Arizona became more comfortable in her writing. Actually, she noticed that it had started right about the time Arizona had admitted dreaming of Melissa, and continued to follow with every letter since. It was clear to Callie that through her dreams Arizona had indeed formed a special bond with Mel.

Callie reached for the last envelope; she knitted her eyebrows as she noticed that the back flap was already opened. The brunette pulled the letter out and as she began to read it, she couldn't help but notice the Torres Hotel stationary it had been written on.

_ So, here we are again. I know that I've been writing more frequently in the last couple of months. It's just that things have been awfully bad lately, and apart from my niece…these letters and the connection that I feel with your loved one is the only thing that has kept me going. I hadn't dreamt with her in so long, but last night I did again. It was like coming home after a long and hard day of work. She instantly brought a smile to my face; she teases a lot and is very f__unny. _

_I've missed that and I've missed dreaming with her. So I was beyond happy that we finally met yet again…even if only in my dreams. I've only gotten to know her through this strange, yet magnificent way of communication and can't help but feel happy that I got to know her at all. I can only imagine how you and your family must feel when you think of her. She gave me a message last night. She said, "It's never too late to start planting new flowers." You don't know how true to heart I am taking her word. I feel like the last couple of years of my life has been one bad decision after the other, especially this last year and a half. I definitely need to start planting new flowers, and can't wait to watch my garden flourish._

_During the dream, she asked me to 'remind her too.' I was confused at first, but now I know…she meant you. Because of what's going on, my niece and I are currently seeking refuge at a hotel. When we arrived, I had no money, I couldn't show my identification, and I looked like something that the cat dragged in. But even with all of those strikes against me…I met the most wonderful person, and she leant us the helping hand that we needed._

_I had given up hope…hope in life and people in general. But because of people like her and people like your loved one, today I was reminded that there are good people out there…and that's it's up to me now to make a difference in my life. To be the change I want to see. I don't know if the message she gave me for you holds any special type of meaning, but please know that it has definitely made an impact in my life…as she has._

_I know I always end each letter with the same request, but I can't help but feel like are paths are meant to cross, and that there is some greater purpose or destiny for us. Fate is a funny thing, but I learned a long time ago…you can't escape it. So, once again I ask that you please consider meeting with me, if only to allow me to be a small seed in that fresh bed of flowers you'll be planting soon._

Callie let out a whimpered cry as she read Arizona's last letter. Her left hand balled up into a tight fist as she clutched it tightly. Her right hand came up to cover her face as she cried into it.

Lucia rushed over to Callie's place, hoping to see her daughter walking towards the hotel. The older brunette kept an eye out for Callie as she drove through the streets of her neighborhood. She became a little worried when she didn't see any signs of her daughter anywhere. As she finally pulled into Callie's driveway she noticed that her daughter's car was missing, which explained why she hadn't seen her walking.

Lucia worriedly sighed as she sat in her car and pondered her next move. Callie was completely distraught when they talked on the phone. She never would have imagined that her daughter would have chosen to drive; Callie was still so very cautious when it came to driving. Before Lucia could pull out of Callie's driveway and head towards the hotel, she noticed Arizona exiting Callie's house. The older Torres immediately jumped out of her car to approach the blonde.

"Arizona?" Lucia called out to the retreating blonde.

Arizona's head snapped up as she turned around and worriedly looked at Callie's mom with wide eyes. Callie had probably already told her family the truth, and Arizona wasn't quite ready to deal with the older woman right now.

As Arizona stopped her hasty retreat, Lucia finished walking over to her. The younger woman looked at her warily.

"Look Mrs. Torres, I never meant any harm to anyone…I just…" Arizona defensively stated as she trailed off. She was trying to figure out what she was feeling and how to say the right words. This whole situation was so messed up.

Lucia knitted her eyebrows in confusion, "Arizona…I know that. Let's just go inside and talk."

Arizona remained quiet as she continued to cautiously eye Lucia. The older woman didn't seem mad, but she did seem a bit stressed…or worried, Arizona couldn't quite figure it out.

"Please? Let's go in and talk." Lucia suggested once again. She knew Arizona had her guard up.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Torres. Things are just really complicated right now between Callie and I…and…you…you won't understand so ple…"

"I read your last letter." Lucia abruptly cut her off.

At Lucia's last statement a look of panic took over Arizona's features. Now Mrs. Torres would think she had known all along and was using Callie.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cut you off…I just…I thought you should know…that I know." Lucia apologized as she saw the tears welling up in Arizona's eyes.

"Everything is so messed up." Arizona stated as her voice cracked.

"No…it's not. It just seems that way…let's go inside and talk." Lucia sympathetically looked at Arizona as she gently reached out and brought her in for a hug.

Arizona started sobbing on Lucia's shoulder. As she felt the woman's warm arms wrap around her, Arizona's own arms reached around and tightly clung to the older woman as well.

"Let's go inside…everything will be okay. Okay?" Lucia tenderly whispered as she soothingly rubbed Arizona's back. The blonde nodded and walked into the house with Mrs. Torres. They both made their way to the couch.

"You look like you could use some tea." Lucia offered as she gave Arizona a small smile.

Arizona simply nodded, "Thank you." She stated in a soft whisper.

While Lucia went off to the kitchen to prepare the tea, Arizona once again sat quietly on the couch and looked around Callie's living room, just as she had been doing prior to Lucia's arrival. Arizona got up and walked towards the fireplace mantle and studied the pictures that spread across its surface.

"There aren't any of Melissa."

At the sound of Lucia's voice calling from behind her, Arizona jumped up, startled.

"I noticed that." the blonde replied. She gave Lucia an embarassed smile and took the offered cup of tea from her hand.

"You seemed surprised." Lucia stated as she sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to her.

Arizona took the invite and sat down on the couch.

"My biggest fear in telling Callie the truth was that she couldn't accept me with Melissa's heart…because she was still in love with her…and obviously I was right." Arizona's voice sadly cracked.

Lucia knowingly nodded, "It's so hard to lose a loved one. When I lost my husband…we had a lifetime together. Kids, houses, businesses…it was a lifetime…and yet the night he died…it didn't feel like a lifetime had been long enough."

"Want to know what I kept remembering for weeks after the funeral?" Lucia sadly whispered. She had a faraway look in her eyes.

Arizona nodded.

"I kept thinking…I haven't cooked him his favorite meal in over five years. He had asked me for it once a few months prior…and I kind of laughed and shrugged it off."

"I fought with my brother a few weeks before his accident. I told him I didn't want him calling me…and now he never will." Arizona sadly stated.

Lucia reached up and dried Arizona's tears, "Do you know why Callie can't let go?"

Arizona shook her head from side to side. Callie had told her about the accident…how it had been a drunk driver, but she never mentioned that Melissa's heart had been donated…or offered any details as to what led up to the accident. She just said that Melissa had been out and had gotten hit.

"It's not that she can't let go of Melissa…it's because she can't let go of her own guilt."

"Guilt?"

Lucia nodded, "She was the one who had asked Melissa to go out that night. She says she was having a craving…and Mel went to buy her some chips and a drink."

Arizona closed her eyes and sighed. Suddenly Callie's behavior made a lot more sense.

"How did you figure it out I was her recipient?" Arizona whispered as she opened her eyes and looked over at Lucia.

"The last letter you wrote was written on Torres Hotel stationery." Lucia tenderly smiled as she saw Arizona's face turn red.

"That, coupled with everything you wrote in the letter about staying at a hotel with your niece, and how somebody had helped you out…lent you a kind hand. I started to suspect then, but even with all of that I still had my doubts. I mean what were the odds."

"It wasn't until you brought back the horse that night. I could tell you were scared to face Callie…you said I wouldn't understand. I put everything together…when you wrote the letter you obviously had no clue who Callie was…but somewhere along the line you must have figured out the truth about Melissa being your donor."

Arizona shook her head from side to side; this really was all too much.

"I should leave before Callie comes." Arizona stated as she started to get up.

Lucia knitted her eyebrows in confusion and placed her hand over Arizona's wrist. The blonde recoiled at the touch and pulled away.

"I'm…I'm sorry. I just…I think you should stay and wait for Callie." Lucia apologized as she saw the look of fear in the blonde's eyes.

Arizona shook her head, "What for? Callie will never accept me now. I…I'll just go get my things from the hotel and pick up Emma…my friend Teddy will…"

"Arizona…Calliope does like you. And she will be able to handle this. She just found out...you have to give her some time. How did you feel when you first found out the truth?"

Arizona swallowed thickly as she nodded in understanding. Lucia was right; she had to give Callie time to process. The blonde heavily sighed as she took her seat next to Callie's mom yet again.

As Arizona dejectedly sat down, Lucia reached over and side hugged her. As they pulled apart, Arizona looked over towards the older woman and they shared a small smile.

_"You know, you should really try to clean this place up."_

_At the sound of an all too familiar voice, Callie suddenly stopped crying. As she pulled her hand away from her face, her head turned in the direction of the voice._

_"Mel?" She asked in a hushed whisper._

_"In the flesh." Melissa smirked as she signaled the length of her body with her hand._

_"And I use the term 'flesh' loosely." She winked at Callie. Tthe brunette just staring back at her wide eyed._

_As Callie continued to stare at her like someone who had just seen a ghost, Melissa sadly smiled at her._

_"I'm sorry…I thought if I cracked a few jokes…this would somehow be easier."_

_Callie swallowed thickly as tears slowly started to trail down her cheeks. Melissa slowly closed the distance between them and reached up to dry them. Callie's eyes closed at the touch. Now, however, Melissa's hands felt cold against her skin...they were nothing like she remembered._

_"You read the letters." Melissa whispered as she gently gripped Callie's face._

_Callie slowly opened her eyes and simply nodded._

_"She has your heart." The brunette sadly stated as her voice cracked._

_Melissa gave Callie a small smile as she shook her head from side to side, "No…she has yours. You're falling in love with her."_

_At Melissa's statement Callie closed her eyes and let out a whimpered cry, "I'm sorry."_

_"Sorry for what?" Melissa tenderly asked as the pads of her thumbs continued to dry Callie's tears._

_Callie slowly opened her eyes yet again, brown eyes meeting with green ones._

_"For falling in love?" Melissa asked, Callie nodded._

_"Lucky for you I really like Arizona…because if you had started dating that slutty neighbor from down the block I would've come back from the dead and kicked your ass." Melissa smiled at Callie._

_Callie sniffled and a small smile tugged at her lips, "She was always flirting with me."_

_"Yeah…and right in front of me…the woman had no shame."_

_Both women chuckled slightly as they remembered the shameless flirting._

_As the laughter died down, Melissa sadly smiled at Callie. She slowly removed her hands from Callie's face and then reached down to take the brunette's hands in her own._

_"How come I never dream with you?" Callie asked, she had been wondering that ever since Arizona had admitted the truth back at the house._

_"You do dream with me." Melissa answered._

_"Not like Arizona…you give her messages…and plant flowers." Callie stated as she remembered what Arizona had written in the letters._

_"Are you jealous?" Melissa teasingly smirked, but Callie just stared back at her as she continued to wait for her answer._

_While Callie knew it was true that she liked Arizona - was, in fact, falling love with her - she couldn't help but feel hurt and wonder why Melissa wouldn't have entered her dreams in the past._

_"You do dream with me Callie…only your dreams are memories…and you can have them whenever you want, because they'll never go away. You don't need horses…or rings to remember what we had."_

_Callie nodded._

_"But that's just it Callie…it's what we had. You have to let go."_

_"I did." Callie sadly stated as fresh tears poured from her eyes._

_"No…you haven't." Melissa sadly shook her head._

_"Let go of your guilt." Melissa stated as she gave Callie's hands a reassuring squeeze._

_Callie let out a whimpered cry and shut her eyes tightly as Melissa told her to let go, " I shouldn't have…I…I shouldn't have made you go…th…that night…and then…I…I just fell asleep…and…and you never…you never got to meet Sof."_

_"You never were able to see past the end of your nose," Melissa stated as she let go of Callie's hands and reached up to pinch her nose._

_Melissa brought Callie in for a hug, the brunette's arms automatically reciprocating the action._

_"I see her all the time. I have the best seat in the house actually. And as far as me going out that night…I would do it all over again. I would have cross the desert to bring anything you wanted Callie…because I know it would make you smile…and I would give anything to see you smile." Melissa whispered in Callie's ear._

_"You know what else makes you smile?"_

_"What?" Callie asked as she pulled back from their embrace._

_"Arizona." Melissa knowingly stated as she gave Callie a small smile._

_At the sound of the blonde's name a smile instantly graced Callie's face._

_"See?" Melissa wiggled her eyebrows._

_"Are Arizona and I going to be okay?" Callie asked._

_"That's up to the two of you. She's vulnerable…and she's got a lot going on."_

_Callie nodded in understanding._

_"She's needs a friend for now…but everything will eventually fall into place."_

_"I really miss you." Callie stated._

_"You better." Melissa smirked, which caused Callie to chuckle softly in response._

_"I have to go now."_

_Callie nodded, "I'll see you in my dreams." She whispered._

_"Not if Arizona sees me first." Melissa smirked and wiggled her eyebrows as Callie rolled her eyes._

_"Bye Cal."_

_"Bye Mel."_

Callie abruptly opened her eyes. As they wildly scanned their surroundings, the brunette realized that she had fallen asleep on the dirty hardwood floor of the greenhouse, and that she must have been dreaming. She carefully made her way to stand up as she grabbed the leg of the workstation for support, her back protesting loudly as it had been harshly exposed to the hard floor.

Callie started picking up the letters and stuffing them back in their corresponding envelopes. She tied the rubber band around them yet again and placed them in her purse. She locked the greenhouse and headed back towards her car. She was in a rush to get home - and back to Arizona.

Arizona nervously bounced her leg as she sat on the loveseat in Callie's living room. The brunette had been gone for a few hours now and Arizona anxiously awaited her arrival. Lucia had left about half an hour ago. She told Arizona that Callie had more than likely gone in search of the letters.

She and Mrs. Torres had talked a lot actually. The older woman gave her some insight into Callie, and also offered her some really good and healthy motherly advice, which Arizona had been seriously pondering and evaluating ever since Lucia had gone home.

"You smoke?" Callie asked, a bit confused as she stepped inside her house and saw Arizona with a cigarette in one hand, and a lighter that she kept nervously turning on and off in the other.

As Callie continued to look over at the blonde, she noticed that the cigarette was not lit.

At the sound of Callie's voice, Arizona's head snapped up. The brunette was putting her purse down and tossed her keys in a glass bowl that sat on a small table near the door.

The blonde nodded as she stood up to address Callie, "Yeah…it…it's a really bad habit. It's disgusting actually…and I'm a Peds surgeon…such a horrible example for my tiny humans…and Emma also…I don't…I never want her to smoke. But, actually…I don't really do it anymore anyways…because of the…you know." She nervously stated as she pointed to her heart.

Arizona took the lighter and the cigarette and tossed them down onto the couch. Smoking, drinking…all things that did not mix well with her heart transplant operation and her meds.

Callie nodded but remained quiet as she continued to look at the fidgety blonde.

Arizona nervously nodded her head yet again, "I…I think we should break up," she awkwardly blurted out.

Arizona had meant for it to come out more eloquently than that. In her talk with Lucia she realized that both she and Callie needed to slow things down. She just got out of this disastrous relationship with Renee, and she couldn't dive back into another one. Not that being in a relationship with Callie would be disastrous, but she needed time.

She needed to start taking matters into her own hands, gain back some of her independence. She needed to prove to herself that she could make it on her own. She also needed to start setting a good example for Emma. They both needed help to deal with the ramifications of being in such an abusive environment for so long.

Callie raised an amused eyebrow, "I didn't know we were together," she smirked.

"Well, we…we're not but…" Before Arizona could finish her sentence she started to cry.

Callie instantly became worried as she walked over towards Arizona and gathered her up in her arms.

"Please don't cry. I don't like to see you cry."

"I just…I want you to see me…I want you to love me." Arizona sobbed into Callie's chest.

Callie pulled back and gently grabbed Arizona's face with both hands, "I do see you." She tenderly whispered.

"No you don't…the first thing you did when I told you, was look at my heart…you wanted to…"

"I see you…I. see. you." Callie stated as she looked deeply into Arizona's eyes.

"That's why…that's why I looked so hard…I…I felt so ashamed…because I only saw you…this whole time…even when I close my eyes…I see the most beautiful set of blue eyes staring back at me. And I thought…I should've been able to tell or something…right? That you had her heart...I should have been able to tell." Callie sadly stated.

"But…I didn't. And…and that's okay."

"I love so many things about you Arizona…and there is so much more of you that I want to get to know. And…and the heart transplant…it's…it's crazy and…it took me by surprise…and I'm still wrapping my head around it but…I like you…and…and I want be around. I want to see you operate on tiny humans…and come home all excited to tell me about it…and I want to pop up at your job and surprise you with a picnic lunch in the park…only you're like the most badass Peds Surgeon in the hospital…so we have to settle for a quickie in one of the on call rooms."

"Quickie lunch…or…" Arizona asked in a soft whisper, her eyes intently staring back at Callie's. She could tell Callie was telling her the truth…the brunette's beautiful and expressive brown eyes would always give her away.

"Quickie lunch…you guttermind." Callie chuckled. The women shared a knowing smile as comfortable silence fell upon them.

"I do think we need to take it slow though." Callie's voice broke the quiet.

Arizona nodded in agreement, "Me too. I want to get my life back in order. My job…a place for me and Emma. I want Emma to be proud of me, and I want her to know that what I had with Renee wasn't healthy."

"Your mom and I talked for a long time. She even helped me set up a plan of action. We wrote it down and everything." Arizona chuckled. Lucia was very type A The older woman reminding her a little of herself…a self that Arizona so desperately wanted to find again.

"Really?" Callie raised an eyebrow.

"Uh-huh. We're besties now." Arizona teased.

Callie chuckled, "Okay."

"So, this plan of action…am…am I anywhere in it?" Callie worriedly asked.

"Definitely." Arizona gave Callie a big dimpled smile.

The brunette tilted her head and knowingly looked at the blonde. As Arizona's breath hitched, Callie sexily squinted and moved closer. She placed a tender kiss on Arizona's soft lips.

Arizona pulled back and placed her hands on Callie's chest to halt her movements, "What happened to taking things slow?" she teasingly smirked.

"Oh…right." Callie stated as she moved back.

The brunette playfully puckered her lips like a fish and made a funny face as she sloooooowly moved in to get closer to Arizona's face and lips.

Arizona closed her eyes at the weird face Callie was making and started to laugh, "Okay nevermind…it's creepy…regular kiss."

Callie triumphantly smiled as she planted a heated kiss on Arizona's moist lips, the blonde instantly moaned into the kiss and dug her hands into Callie's beautiful thick locks. The brunette's own hands came up from Arizona's hips to rest on the blonde's shoulders. Both women lost themselves with every passionate connection of their tongues.

Callie and Arizona simultaneously pulled away when the need for air became an issue, but their hands never once lost contact with one another.

"How was that?" Callie husked against Arizona's lips as her eyes lovingly stared back at her.

"Best regular kiss I've ever had."


End file.
